from s + h

ice skating & sledding

2012-01-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

Before christmas we went ice skating in downtown salt lake, it was so cool! There is an outdoor ice rink in the middle of tall buildings, it was like a mini central park in nyc, okay maybe not, but it was so fun!

the girlies :)

Spence had to work, so my mom was my skating buddy! Blayke stayed with grandpa and played with her cousin.

by the end, lindsay and I were pretty much professionals :)

[okay, i was holding onto the wall, hehe ;)]

We played tag while we were there, and crack the whip, haha. It was fun until I was soooo close to tagging tanner, we were both booking it, and ate it on the ice. My toepick [cutting edge anyone?] caught the ice, and i fell flat on my stomach. My right hip and left knee took the fall, and i had the wind knocked out of me. A little blood, [from my hip, it sliced open from the fall], 2 huge bruises, and a painkiller later I was up and playing dance kinect later that night. As for the ice, I was done after that, i'm not going to lie, it hurt!

i think ice skating should be a new tradition, yes??

A couple weeks ago it finally snowed on MLK day. Spence had the day off, so we went sledding at sugarhouse park. The snow, obviously wasn't that great, people had been there all day sledding so it was worn down, but still fun for us.

We finally know how to dress warm, yay us! We're pretty happy about it.

my little peanut butter in her snow gear!

dada and miss b going down the hill

B and mama going down!

uncle mad dawg and blayke going down!

We're excited for more snow [or as Blayke would say, 'no' while pointing to her nose]

Hopefully the sled that the grandkids got for christmas holds up for us big kids ;)

tea party for 1?

2012-01-15T10:10:00.000-07:00

before church last week miss b had a mini tea party.

[love her face in this picture, does it get any sweeter?]

Close Call

2012-01-12T23:09:00.000-07:00

My girl, my macbook, got a little sick. Well, not really sick, she just got the 'x' in the battery icon, which is no bueno. Basically, the battery doesn't charge and every time you unplug, it goes black or like mine started doing, shuts off. Basically it means its time for a new battery.

My computer did this a year and a half ago, I like to say she was on life support, but then one day I unplugged it and it stayed on, it was fixed.

Then it started again a few months ago so speney ben got me a new battery for my computer for christmas [which btw, apple sells them for $120...which is insane, especially since you can get them on buy.com for $35. :)]

Long story short, the new battery was not taking care of the 'x'.

We tried some different things, cleaned up some space, etc. The thing is when it was getting 'cleaned up', ALL, I mean every single one of my pictures was deleted. GONE. iphoto...empty. Trash can...empty.

I tried not to thing about it, they had to be somewhere right?

After a call to apple didn't help, I took her into the genius bar in the store. Things weren't looking good. They had to keep her "overnight" which ended up being the whole weekend to run tests, and that was just for the battery, which was either a $70 wire fix or a $500 logitech board problem.

At that point i told that apple 'genius' that he was killing me.

Oh and as far as the pictures, they were gone.

I felt like I was back at a dr appt, waiting to hear the prognosis. The thought of losing all of our pictures, pictures of us before we were married, our wedding, me being pregnant, and all of Blayke's pictures, it honestly made me feel sick.

I tried not to think about it.

Monday, i finally got to pick up my macbook, it was the $70 fix, which still sucks, but not bad. If it were $500 there's no way we would have paid for that, we would have used it as a desktop and always left it plugged in.

Anyway, the pictures.

There is a $70 program that restores all of your pictures. Everything that was a .jpg is restored, so even these little favicon things that are not pictures are restored...which is a little annoying to sort through when there are thousands of pictures.

And all the pictures are totally out of order, i have major work to do...

BUT, they're back!!!!!

I am soooooo happy and relived, even if it did cost $70, those are memories people and we all know memories are priceless ;)

Moral to the story...back up your pictures.

Don't learn the hard way like I did.

I was too cheap and didn't have the patience to do it, luckily spencer does and saved all of our pictures.

All of our pictures are on a external hard drive now, such a relief!

I am so happy.

While this whole thing was going on, there was one picture that kept standing out in my mind.

I knew I didn't have it anywhere else but on my computer,

all i wanted to do was see this picture....

Blayke at 8 months, right after we moved into our townhouse and right before we found out about her stroke.

Speaking of, I wish I could go back to that time to see what life was like.

I can't even remember.

I'm so glad our pictures are back, life can continue now ;)

Christmas

2011-12-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

We had a great Christmas this year with lots of pics to show for it.

We had Christmas at my parents, we ended up packing our bags and staying the whole weekend!

We even had an early visit from Santa on Christmas Eve night...the kids loved it.

Blayke got an early gift from Spence...an Ellen hoodie!!!

You better believe she is rockin that thing like there is no tomorrow, she loves it as much as i do!

[oh that thing hangin out of her mouth won't be there for long, in fact there wasn't much there in this picture, i've been cutting off the tip and cutting a little more at a time, she is quickly losing interest in the pacifier...just as we hoped!] :)

[see she's excited about it]!

Her Christmas dress!

Having a kid at Christmas is so fun!

Finally...Christmas Eve dinner :)

We were downstairs when we heard the bells and then a ho ho ho....

Santa came early!!!

He had a special treat for everyone and he had our OCE gifts! [open christmas eve ;)]

Blayke wasn't scared, he was giving out candy, of course she wasn't scared!

Each of the kids sat on Santa's lap and told them what they wanted...

Even Mad sat on his lap and asked for an iphone! Then santa said okay, check your pocket and there was his iphone he wanted. [which btw, he has siri, and i cannot wait for my upgrade and my bday coming up for that reason, because we all need a personal assistant on our phone right. Right.]

I think Blayke recognized Santa....

Weird. Maybe that's where Blayke got her blue eyes...Santa Claus ;)

And how appropriate that she wore a shirt that says "Santa's Favorite"

So if you haven't gotten the hint yet, Spencer was Santa, he was awesome!!! It was all his idea to get a Santa suit and surprise everyone with Santa coming to visit. It was hilarious, we were all dying laughing, Santa kept saying he was going to have heat exhaustion in that suit, but seriously he did so good, I was a proud mrs. claus!

We got an early Christmas present from my parents, Dance Central 3 for the kinect, it is SO much fun! [spence and i got it too from my brother who had our name...my new workout?...i think yes]

Even Blayke had to get in the dancing action with her cindy loo who hair. She actually even scored points dancing :)

4 grown men laughing and dancing, what else can do that?

Blayke in her Christmas pj's ready for Santa to come back :)

Santa brought Blayke a play kitchen!
Now hopefully mommy won't trip over blayke in the kitchen because she wants to help all the time :)

[apparently she likes her coffee first thing in the morning]

what happened to the rest of my face spence?

i made a little something for spence to hang in his office someday...

he's obsessed with george so i took the quote from one of his songs

Blayke got a special I am a Child of God book from mommy and daddy with pictures by Greg Olsen. She was kissing one of the little girls in the picture :)

Guess what...momma got a new Ellen hoodie too! B and I match, you better believe we wear them out at the same time!

[BTW, don't look close at that pic we both literally just woke up]

Every Christmas my parents would take a picture of us and all of our stuff, I love looking back at those pictures to see what we got, how old we were, etc, so that's something I started with Blayke last yr. So here is Blayke's picture with her and all of her Christmas stuff...

[i'll leave out mine and spence's because, well, that's just weird]

December [Temple Lights]

2011-12-22T12:26:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe it's December already. Even better Christmas is in 3 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year!

Last Saturday we went downtown again to see the Temple Lights. It was packed!

[like I said...packed]
We started a little tradition last year with some friends by going downtown to eat at Iggy's then we jump on the train and go to the temple. My brother and sister in law came to eat with us this yr :)

My little eskimo, she could hardly move!

At the lights...at least we were able to take a pic!

Our friends gave us AZ folk some gloves for Christmas this yr! Our hands stayed so warm! We're still trying to figure out this whole dressing warm and layering thing, but I feel like we finally might be getting it. I wore 2 pair of leggings, one was fleece lined and 2 pair of socks and a beanie, oh and my new gloves, that's pretty good right? I felt good about it and stayed warm which was even better :)

I love downtown :)

We had fun but we decided for next year that we should go on a tues or thurs the very beginning of Dec, that way it's not fhe night, mutual or the weekend.

In other news....

Miss B Ava had her second round of botox injections last week. Everything went well, it went exactly like it did the first time except she was under a little longer, apparently she decided to take a little nap.

I always feel so bad when she has to go through something like that, so I took her to breakfast afterwards, actually it was more like lunch, at Kneaders!

If she has to get botox injections then she should at least get to go out to eat afterwards right?

I agree!

Though, some people would view botox and going out to eat as a win-win. ;)

Notice the empty highchair, apparently she is too grown up for that now, she wanted to sit in the big chair.

the rest of the day she was supposed to take it easy so we went home and turned on Tangled.

She watched about 7 minutes total...she is not a movie or tv watcher at all, she'd rather play :)
[i guess i should be glad]

I was on the phone with one of her therapists when I saw Blayke was 'on the phone' too, or should I say camera? That's my old camera she's holding and talking on. It made me laugh, she was walking around and talking just like I was.

She is likes to do what mom is doing....
and wearing...
[my scarf, necklace, and bag]

Our own little Cindy Loo Who :)
She has turned into such a little helper lately, helping me with laundry, unloading the dishwasher, its awesome!

We went to the Grand America Hotel the other day, they have a little scavenger hunt and then you get a free cookie at the end!free cookie at the end!

K, the Grand America.....GORGEOUS!!!! Holy wow, it's so fancy!

the kids and their cookies at the end

My mom, sister, sister in law and I went to the Tabernacle Christmas Concert with Jane Seymore. It was really cool! I love having a night out too! We went downtown before to eat, then walked downtown in the freezing cold to the train which was packed! Then ran to to the conference center, it was so fun!!! My brother even watched Blayke until Spencer got home from work, thanks Mad-dog!

Sleep Study and the Results

2011-12-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

Miss B Ava had a sleep study last week. Which means, her and I spent the night at the hospital.

Real fun, I know.

[actually, the whole time I was laying there, I couldn't help but be grateful we were only there for a sleep study. I kept thinking about the kids upstairs and their families who stay at the hospital all the time.]

We checked in at 8pm last monday and they immediately started hooking her up and getting her ready. I was totally nervous on how she would do having everything put on, she did surprisingly well. She didn't try to take them off, she didn't shake her head, she didn't cry, she did awesome. They gave her a stick with stickers to play with, that kept her busy.

There were 2 people hooking her up and prepping her and it still took 45 minutes! There was a lot involved...obviously ;)

She had wires under her shirt, on her neck, all over her head and on her foot. They put this net on her head to hold all the wires so she can sleep. You can see the wires in the top of the pic, and of course on the bed.

I called it her ponytail of wires.

And, there was one more thing...the nose. They put that on her face with that thing going in her nose. That monitors if and how much she is breathing in and out of her nose. She did not like having that put on.

Saddest face ever, right? :(

Finishing up with even more wires.

They gave blayke a new fleece pink blanket. They put that on the bed to cover the wires and for her to sleep with. We got to take it home with us.

Our room for the night. That was my bed on the left.

I laid in bed with Blayke until she fell asleep. She did fall asleep pretty quick, I think the poor girl was so tired after all that. Once she was asleep I would climb out of the bed onto my chair/bed. Overall, the night went pretty well but the wires in her nose kept getting clogged, so a machine would start beeping. The girl would come in, try to fix it and would have to have oxygen blown into the wires, so blayke was getting oxygen up into her nose, which could not be comfortable. Every time someone came in Blayke would sit right up, she was such a light sleeper that night. I climbed in and out of that bed so many times.

Finally at about 2am they changed the size of her nose thing to a large size. She did not like that at all, she was trying to climb on me while I was trying to help her lay down so they could get it in okay. After that I told her I would stay with her in her bed the rest of the night, I pulled my blanket in and we actually slept. No machines beeping, and no one came in until 6am when it was over and they started taking everything off of her. We made it!

I got 3 hours of sleep that night but it was over!

Blayke had a ton of gunk in her hair and all over her so instead of coming home at 7am and going back to bed, she needed a bath. She had therapy at 9 at our house, but after that she had a nice nap! Even I took a nap, 45 mins, and I felt worse afterwards so I resorted to caffeine and kfc to get me through the day, it worked :)

[see her masterpiece on the wall from her bath crayons, she loves them!]

So, we had a sleep study done because Blayke tends to breathes loudly, snores sometimes, and well, sleeps a lot! Not that we're complaining about her sleeping 13 hours at night and usually another 5 in the day, it's just a lot. Spencer had sleep apnea and his tonsils, adenoids and uvula removed when he was in high school.

I mentioned a few things to her Pediatrician last month, he told us about having a sleep study done and referred us to an ENT.

Blayke and I went back to the hospital this morning to hear the results. I thought for sure they would say everything was okay, maybe a little something but nothing to worry about.

I was totally taken back when the Dr told me that she does have a mild case of sleep apnea.

The good news is that it is mild.

They consider 'mild in children' is stirring 1 time per hour. Blayke stirs 3.5 times per hour.

Her oxygen levels, which should be around 92%, drop to 81%, and basically she stops breathing for a few seconds each time.

[isn't it crazy how they all this?]

I don't like that she stops breathing that many times, but that is considered "mild".

Blayke isn't getting enough "quality" sleep each night and during her naps which is making her more tired throughout the day and is why she sleeps so much.

The only thing is...the Dr is worried with her history of her stroke, that it could be weakness in her throat causing this. He is a little apprehensive to take out her tonsils and adenoids when he doesn't know if that is 100% the cause. She could have the surgery and it could do nothing.

Basically, we have to decide and weigh our options....to do surgery or not.

In the mean time the Dr is going to talk to another Dr who usually reviews the sleep studies but is out of town for 2 weeks, then he'll call me and we'll go from there.

I wish I could at least bribe her with shakes and watching movies but she's just not into that stuff yet.

So, we'll see.

If this is interrupting her development, you know, maybe she would be more productive in the day if she wasn't so tired, then I do think we should do it.

I just don't know yet on this one.

I think if we did do surgery, we wouldn't do it for a couple of months at least, next week she is having her second round of botox injections.

So for now, I just have to keep this girl healthy for the next week, botox and sickness, any kind of sickness, do not mix.

At all.

[p.s. blayke you did so good that night, I was so, so proud of you for being such a good sport! You only cried once, and that was because they were changing wires and pulling tape off of your cute little face, unlike the little boy down the hall who cried almost all night! If you understood the fun in going out to breakfast, I totally would have taken you out for whatever you wanted! Maybe later huh? You pick the place! we'll get dad to go too :]

Results

2011-12-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Last month when Blayke was 21 months, she had her annual testing done with Early Intervention, aka therapy that comes to our house. She was tested in every category, fine motor skills, gross motor, cognitive, communication, socialisation, etc.

Let me back up and tell you she had this same testing done 6 months ago. She was 15 months at the time, and was not yet walking. Because she wasn't walking, and everything seems to happen after they start walking, like talking, etc. Her scores weren't very good, she scored in almost everything at a 12 month level. Her speech was even at the 10 month level.

Then she had botox done, had a cast on her good arm, and it was basically like having an infant again for a week. She was 100% dependent on us for everything, I mean everything. From trying to eat a goldfish to trying to play with her toys. It was exhausting, the only thing that got us through that week was going on walks, it gave both blayke and I a break.

Soon after botox, at 19 months, she started walking! Then she started talking.

The results we got this week were mind blowing, even to her therapists in Early Intervention. She scored in almost category at 22 months! She is behind in the self help category, but her OT and I will be working on that, feeding herself independently with a spoon/fork, learning to dress herself, etc.

[thanksgiving day, playing with her cousins]

If that wasn't exciting enough, she scored in adult interaction at 27 months and socialisation at 30 months!

I was blown away. In 6 months she came from being about 4 months behind and is now caught up, even scoring higher in some categories! I couldn't believe it! Her therapists couldn't believe it! She met every one of her goals that we made, which they said rarely happens. We set new goals, I am so excited for her!

Blayke and I still go to musikgarten (music class) every week, and apparently, she is doing so well in there, they wish they could put her in their preschool right now!!! But...she has to be close to 2 1/2. So, next summer sometime, she'll be starting preschool!

My little bean will be going to school!!!

We are so so so so proud of her. 6 months ago I was beginning to think, this whole stroke, cerebral palsy, thing had us beat, and that she would always be behind, but now I am starting to believe again that we can beat it! She's not going to let that stand in her way.

the hawaii trip

2011-11-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

I HAD to share the parentals Hawaii Pics!

I mean this was a once in a lifetime trip you know.

Staying at the Four Seasons Resort, a completely paid for trip, including flights, rental car and breakfast, and it being from Ellen?

I still can't believe it.

There was a reason I wanted to send them to Hawaii in particular, you can read that HERE or my mom's post HERE. [which is a little more accurate in the details]

Now onto the fun stuff....the pictures!

The view from their room...

a welcome gift from the travel agency that set it all up.

[minus the wine, they gave that to the bellhop dude]

me madre

me padre

Their rental car was a jeep! How cool is that!

big sea turtles on the black sand beach

they're ginormous!

apparently there is a lot of lava on the big island

so pretty...

driving to the resort looked like this...

but then as you drive in there it starts looking more and more like Hawaii and gets prettier and greener...

and greener...

apparently this is the 'tranquilty pool' where you can't talk above a whisper.

Not to worry, if you do want to talk they have 5 different pools. :)

The hot tub. There was a live band playing to the right every night.

the resorts private beach, with the chairs "set-up".

Apparently, you can have a 'set-up', where they give you a towel, put a little mat/towel over the chair, and give you a glass of water.

walking path and lava

this is where they enjoyed their breakfast buffet everyday

this picture cracks me up...it's a classic case of menu price shock!

[good thing breakfast was included and they had a car so they could leave the resort for dinner]!

where they ate everyday... seriously, this looks like a scene from a movie.

another pool!

apparently they were pretty happy to find an ABC store. haha

Here is the Four Seasons office.

When you check in, you don't go to a counter, you sit down on these nice couches, they give you a lei, fancy coconut drinks in a coconut and fresh pineapple to eat.

That's just checking in people. OMG!

Then they take your bags, and they take you on a separate golf cart to your room and for a tour of the resort.

I guess every night, they come in and undo your bed, pull down the sheets/bedding for you to get in. Then they put a mat down on each side of the bed with a pair of slippers for you when you wake up each morning.

Spoiled, right?

The view of the pool and ocean

The kiddies pool! With tiny lounge chairs! How cute!

And of course, none of this would have been possible without our girl ellen...

They had an AMAZING time and were completely spoiled rotten!!!

They also said this was the nicest place they have ever stayed! YAY!!!

[holy view... i might have to frame this pic]

Our break

2011-11-11T14:40:00.001-07:00

So, we're on our official break from primary's therapy and oh my gosh, I could get used to this.

It is SO nice not having to wake up every morning and hurry to get off to appts.

I actually have blank days on my calendar, like this is awesome!

We still have early intervention come over every week, but that's easy when they come to our house. And we still do musikgarten every friday.

We saw the ENT, she had a swallow study done this last tuesday. Everything looks great!

(I love hearing that everything looks great! When we saw the opthamologist a month ago, and he said that, I totally almost started crying like a baby when I told him thanks, and that we didn't hear that very often. He was like oh...yeah, she's good, totally re-assuring me.

That's 2 everything's okay from 2 different specialists in a row people!

Really, I could get used to hearing that.)

Anyway, it was cool to watch the swallow study. I put her in a little chair, the x-ray machine came out to the left of her. I stood in front of her with a lead vest and fed her the foods they had ready for her. The monitor was on my left side and a dr and nurse on my right, (blayke's left), I could look up at the monitor and see her chewing the food and watch it go down her throat. It was SO cool! I could see all her teeth, her earring, it was awesome. When she drank you could see all the liquid going down her throat. They put stuff in the food so it would show up on the x-ray. I'm glad it's over and that she's good, but seriously, it was really cool to watch!

Anyway, she's having a sleep study done in dec, then botox a week later, then intense therapy. So we'll enjoy our break before dec comes and we start staying at the hospital!

Blayke and I have been taking advantage of our new found freedom by going to the park by our house or to liberty park downtown almost every morning, well, before it started getting cold.

She has turned into such a little helper. Ever since she started walking she has taken off with everything. Her Speech therapists always said once she started walking, her speech would come, since she wouldn't be concentrating so much on walking anymore, and it has. But even more than that, she understands almost everything! Spencer and I decided we basically went from having an infant, when she had her cast on, to a full blown toddler. We're blown away with how well she is doing.

She loves to take care of her babies!

Rock them and put them in the stroller, seriously how do kids know what to do?!

Apparently, she's also turned into a little thug with one pant leg rolled up :)

This girl is all girl.

She finds her necklaces and puts them on by herself, it's pretty cute watching how she does it with her left hand. She likes getting her toenails and fingernails painted.

In my defense, it is a written order from her dr to paint her nails. (wearing the nail polish brings awareness, so she can see and recognize her left fingers and toes)

And yes, she really was on the phone in this picture...cracks me up.

She likes to throw things away, which is nice, except when its her crayons box or flashcards box, i find those in the garbage almost daily.

She loves saying prayers :)

The other night after her bath, we put pigtails in her hair!

She looks so big right?!

We are having so much fun with her! Every age/ milestone gets better and better!

Oh and she finally started saying 'mama' this week!

(not that i'm biased, but she's been saying 'daddy' forever okay)

i need a little love too you know.

fall is falling away

2011-11-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Before Halloween we went to Wheeler Farms to pick a pumpkin!

You get to do a 'hay ride' and a little maze too! Blayke loved it, especially the maze and the pumpkins!

cows :)

Blayke only wants to get down and walk now days, and she is getting quick!

i love that face!

feeling the hay with both hands, it's a great texture to stimulate her left hand ;)

(that's what we like, play and therapy at the same time)

uh-oh, dead end.

loving the maze!

peek a boo!

the pumpkin patch!

she loved picking up the pumpkins and moving them

spence and i were pretty impressed by her picking them up, she did it like it was nothing

"uh-oh"

she was going to give the cat a kiss...

until it's head started moving back and forth...

check her out walking down the hill like a pro!

We have been loving fall, but Saturday we woke up to snow!

[it's almost all melted now]

That's okay though, I'm just happy it didn't snow before halloween like last year!

With B walking this year, we're going to have fun in the snow :)

aloooha!

2011-11-03T12:01:00.003-06:00

Aloha!

That's what I said to my mom on the phone yesterday morning when B and I done at the dr.

Why you might ask?

Well yesterday, my deserving parentals flew to the big island of Hawaii to begin their amazing 6 night trip from Ellen!

I can't even tell you how excited I am for them, you would think I was going, but i'm not!

I'm just SOOOOOO excited for them.

It's like at Chirstmas, when you are excited to give gifts just as much as you are to receive them, you know what I mean, you just want to see how they react and hear how much they love it, you know!

I didn't think I'd be freaking out like I am, but I want to hear every single thing about their flight, their amazing room, everything! I've almost called them so many times, but I finally googled the time in Hawaii, when it said it was only 5:48AM, I realized I have to chill out! (though they could be up because of jet lag you know, oh my gosh...i'm not going to call yet)

So, why a trip to Hawaii you might ask?

I remember a couple years ago when I was talking to my mom, I think I was up visiting from AZ, I was pregnant at the time. Spencer and I had been married about 6 months or so and things weren't going as we had planned. I quit my job up here to move to az when we got married because we thought we had a job lined up for Spence, a great deal on a place for us to live, etc. Anyway, those fell through and nothing seemed to be working out for us.

Anyway, one day my mom and I were running errands together and I remember her telling me a story.

See when my mom was in her early 20's, she was in a bad car accident, like really bad. She was in the hospital for months, she had a lot of surgery's, etc. I can't remember what happened with insurance but the remaining balance was really expensive. My mom being a young college student didn't have the money to cover the remaining balance. My grandparents stepped in and helped her by taking care of all of her hospital bills.

It wasn't until years later, when my parents were married and had some of us young kids. They had saved enough money to do something nice for her parents for taking care of all of those hospital bills years ago.

She organized and booked a trip for 2 to Hawaii. She sent my grandparents to Hawaii on an all expense paid trip. I don't think she even told them about it, she set it all up and gave them the tickets.

My parents have helped us. They helped us when we were desperate and when we were put into a situation that we had no control over, but we climbed out of it, with their help.

Funny thing about parents is, I never asked my parents for money.

They knew.

They saw what I guess was pretty obvious, we were newlyweds who were pregnant and jobless.

I still look back and don't know how we survived, I would only spend $30 at the grocery store (no coupons), I don't know what we ate, I don't think we really did. (I couldn't keep anything down anyway).

We never went out, I remember one 'date' was to QT gas station to get a drink.

We lived over 500 miles away but they took care of us.

I hated taking money and they knew that, they always said don't worry about paying us back right away, just do this for your own kids when they need it.

I have literally dreamed of the day when I could book a trip to Hawaii for my parents, give them their tickets, and the remaining balance of what we owed them in cash for spending money. I thought about how we would do it and what it would be like.

I never dreamed it would come already, and they are there right now.

Maybe that is why I am so excited for them, even though I only had a small role in this trip, sending them to hawaii as a thank you is a dream come true for me.

Not only are they there, but they are at the Four Season's Resort where the room they are staying in is $1,500 per night!!
They also get a breakfast buffet that is worth over $650.00. (I don't know what they serve at breakfast but it must be amazing, we joked they'll probably only be eating one meal a day if breakfast is over $100 each day!)

My parents have taught me so much by their example, I hope to be half of the example to my children that they are to me.

So, mom and dad, ENJOY HAWAII!

YOU DESERVE THIS!

You always put us kids and our spouses first.

You are the most selfless people I have ever known.

HAVE FUN THIS WEEK, DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO AND ENJOY EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

I think I can speak for all of us kids and our spouses by saying thank you, and please for once, think of yourselves!!!

I AM BEYOND EXCITED FOR YOU!

We love you so much and THANK YOU for your selfless example, and for everything you have done for us, we honestly don't know where we'd be without you!

Hil, Spence, Blayke

halloween!

2011-11-01T16:39:00.000-06:00

Blayke was a "good" witch for halloween!

I like how she's "modeling" her costume here! Thanks Blayke, that makes mommy feel good after making your tutu and painting the stripes onto your shirt ;)

We had a stake party a week ago, a truck or treat last weekend and we took her trick or treating with her cousins halloween night!

[and Spence and I went to Lagoon for Frightmare's Friday night with some friends, we got a 2 for 1 ticket, which was the same price if we were going to 1 haunted house, they had all the rides open and 5 haunted houses. We did it all! It was so much fun!]

Blayke and her friend London on Daddy's longboard at the trunk or treat!

Blayke, London, Emerson and River!

Hutch, London and Blayke!

We went to my parents house to trick or treat in their neighborhood halloween night!
All the kids, aren't they cute?!

They had a blast trick or treating, Blayke got too much candy! She knows it's in her pink bucket, she points to it and signs candy...we're in trouble. Someone gave out hot chocolate and kettle corn trick or treating, it was good!

We had a great Halloween, can't wait for next year!

1 year ago today...

2011-10-28T16:19:00.000-06:00

1 year ago today....

We got up early to go meet our new pediatrician for a 9 month well check up.

Little did we know what the next few days were going to bring for us.

I remember the rest of the afternoon, I had nurses calling me from our dr and from primary children's hospital.

The wait that morning for an MRI was over 3 months.

That afternoon we were scheduled for a brain MRI in 4 days.

The pediatrician called the neurologist and we got in, at that point we knew they were looking for something specific, we just didn't know what.

We had our halloween weekend, I remember driving to get candy and I lost it, I cried and cried.
What was happening?

We tried to stay positive by saying our dr was just being thorough but inside we were scared to death.

While Blayke was having the MRI done, I waited in a rocking chair and by a crib where she would sleep to recover from the sedation.

They told me once it was done if they have have time to review it before we left they would come tell me the results.
Once Blayke was asleep in the crib, I thought every single person I saw walk by at the front of the recovery room was going to come tell me everything was fine, nothing was found on the scan.

That didn't happen and we went home once she was awake and drinking.

The next day at home her pediatrician called, I will never forget that moment when he told me they found something on the MRI, there has been an injury to the brain, she has had a stroke.

Even then, I had no idea what we were in for this last year.

I thought maybe a few months of therapy, and we'd be good to go.

I never knew that the following year would hold countless therapy appts, dr visits, braces, referrals, specialists, tests, exams, casting, and botox.

I never thought the term cerebral palsy would be a part of my perfect little girl's life.

It's still hard for me to wrap my head around all of this.

Though it's hard and sometimes i just feel like screaming it's not fair, I am grateful.

Grateful for all the amazing people we have met over the last year,
how many amazing dr's we have
how I consider some of her therapists a part of our family (because without them I don't know where we'd be),
how lucky and blessed we are that this is only physical and didn't affect her mentally
how blessed we are that she survived this stroke
how glad I am that she is my one and only right now
how humbling it is when people tell you they have been praying for your child
how she can do the smallest thing like raise her hands above her head and we celebrate it!
how amazing it is to see her reach her milestones
Watching her walk is awesome, even her dr today kept stopping while he was talking and said 'i'm sorry, this [her walking] is just amazing'. We were starting to wonder if she would be able to learn to walk unassisted. She had botox done in her shoulder, relaxed those muscles, she was able to get her balance and took off walking and hasn't looked back. And we almost ordered her a walker...
Blayke has been on the local news as a model for the bamboo brace and as most of you know, she was on National TV on the Ellen DeGeneres show! We were on only 3 months after we found out, SO much has changed even since then.

So, I can only be grateful.
I am honored to be her mom.

So today when we met with her dr again for a 21 month check up, [he didn't want to go 6 months without seeing her] getting a referral to an ENT at Primary's doesn't seem like a big deal. We get a new referral at almost every appt now days from ears and eyes [those are both good for now, thank goodness] to a new therapist, PM& R, or to a specialist like an ENT.

We meet with the Ear Nose and Throat dr next week.

They already called me today to schedule.

Wish us luck :)

to read more about her story and how we found out go HERE.

Oceanside [part 2]

2011-10-27T07:02:00.000-06:00

While we were in o-side we had family pictures done on the beach...

Blayke and her cousin Zach having a sword fight, she had SO much fun with her cousins. When she gets excited now she does this high pitched scream/squeal that is hilarious, let's just say we heard that a lot over there. :)

dolphins!

lindsay and I surfing

[linds, left. me, right]

waiting...

the girls, i think they became bff on this trip.

my mom pulling blayke on a little boogie board

her uncle mad taking her through a "waterfall" by uncle tanner

she loved being pulled on the board sitting and laying but now she's ready to surf!

she loved it :)

Some of the girls, my mom, lindsay, heidi, and blayke on i on the right

at the oceanside sunset market :)

on the morning we were leaving to go home blayke found a Hershey's bar on the shelf, apparently it was open and she helped herself.

Really chocolate for breakfast and before a 12hr drive?

she was pretty happy about it though, haha!

the front of the house we stayed at

the back..

and that view...

adios until next year my love.....

Oceanside, CA [part 1]

2011-10-25T09:54:00.001-06:00

the view from our beach house...perfect.

b in her juicy outfit from the best godfather out there.

Blayke loved the sand! I was SO glad.

[even more glad that she was walking by this trip]!

on the pier on the way to ruby's!

i love that beach

pelican :)

homeboy caught a stingray...yikes!

my dad was stung by one of those a few years ago, actually it was on the same day that Steve Irwin got stung in his heart and died.

you don't want to get stung by one, my dad was in a lot of pain, and he's never in pain. His foot was swollen, it was huge, and black and blue for weeks and went to the hospital/ dr a few times. [which he never goes to either]

some of the fam walking to ruby's

ruby's, how we've missed your yummy shakes and parmesan fries!

my sis in law, lindsay and i

last time we were here, my 2 brothers and I weren't even married yet, now we're all married and i have a kidlet!

our little fam

some guy drew this on the beach with a stick.

it's huge! it's hard to tell, but there is a bird standing on it towards the top, that helps to put into perspective.

Blayke fell asleep in her stroller, this never ever happens. I couldn't believe it

So sweet! She had been having so much fun at the beach and with her cousins.

my sister got the girls new purses, they loved them!

Blayke and my brother! She loves him, he did live with us for a year so she knows him pretty well

All the kids playing on the beach, blayke is with grandma, mad and heidi!

Mad and b

Mommy and B!

Did I mention how much she loved the sand!

and the water! She wanted to keep going back in!

that's my girl....a little beach bum at heart!

this might be my new fav picture :)

B with aunty terese and zach

mommy's hat!

her new sandals [on sale from zappos with our credit we had] just for the trip! Her pt said not to worry about her wearing her ankle brace, so she got to wear sandals!

Yay for Blaykey girl!!!

to be cont'd......

Sweet Water Frame Winner

2011-10-21T12:25:00.002-06:00

And the winner of the 4x6 frame from Sweet Water Frames is....

Cerrisse!

Cerrisse said...

I left a comment on their fb page.

October 13, 2011 9:21 PM

Congrats Cerrisse!!!! Email me to redeem your turquoise frame!

Thank you to everyone who entered!

I really wish you all could have won!

have a good weekend :)

Oreo Football Cookies

2011-10-20T07:02:00.001-06:00

Oreo football cookies.

Yum.

the mr did not want a birthday cake this year, remember? [i had planned on making him a football cake]

I was trying to decide what to do when I remembered he'd been craving homemade Oreo's.

So I figured I'd make the oreos into footballs!

Instead of rolling the dough into balls, I tried shaping them into footballs, but when they cooked, they flattened, and just looked like round cookies.

Then I used the palms of my hands, rolled them, like making a worm, and pinched the edges.

Grab your cream cheese frosting, now it's time for the laces.

I put the frosting in a ziploc bag, pushed it all to one corner and cut the very tip of the bag off.

easy huh!

look how cute they are!!

[okay some are messy but i was in big hurry]

that's better :)

Since the first batch turned out pretty round, I used all of them for the bottoms, then put the good looking ones on top

i could really go for one right now, you?

turns out it was a perfect alternative to a birthday cake! [which he wouldn't have eaten the cake anyway, so then I feel like i have to eat it so it doesn't go to waste, which I shouldn't be eating...anyway, it was a win-win]

Wouldn't these be fun for a football party?!

Superbowl in feb?!

Yeah, they'd be a hit!

Here's the oreo recipe:

1 box of Devil's Food Cake Mix

2/3 cup of butter flavored crisco

2 eggs

Cream Cheese frosting

Mix it all together. Roll into balls [or footballs]!

Bake at 350 for 10-12 Mins.

DIY Baker's Twine Pumpkin

2011-10-16T20:25:00.000-06:00

hi!

I'm back from my trip and I've been dying to show you this little guy I made for halloween!

I planned on posting more on my trip but the waves were calling my name, they were perfect, I had to get out there a boogie board my little heart out while I could.

[nerd, i know]

Anyway, since Halloween is right around the corner, let's jump into this little baker's twine pumpkin tutorial before its too late, mmmkay!

I got this little pumpkin at the dollar store and spray painted it white with some left over paint.

I wasn't quite sure where I was going with this, but I like the idea of white pumpkins. :)

I grabbed some of my diy baker's twine [don't buy the expensive stuff when you can make your own for wayyyy less] and mod podge to see what I could come up with.

I started with the stem and used orange bakers twine to wrap around it.

For the top of the stem, I went back and forth with the bakers twine.

Add mod podge as you go, you can even put some on the bakers twine to help it to stay down, just don't over do it, a little goes a long way. :)

the stem is done! looks better already, right?

Now for the second part, apply mod podge to the middle section of the pumpkin a little at a time and wrap the bakers twine around as you go.

Use as little or as much bakers twine as you want.

When you're done, put mod podge on the end of your bakers twine, tuck it in where you want it and stick on your pumpkin. :)

That's it! Easy right?

It really easy, and fast.

[just what we like. not to mention cheap, it cost me a whole $1, since I already had some diy bakers twine, $3.27, on hand]

[like that trick or treat sign? I know, its adorable!! Free printable HERE.]

Love the frame?

i knew you would! :)

that's because it's a a Sweet Water Frame.

Don't forget to enter my g iveaway for your very own 4x6 frame in the color of your choice!!!

enter giveaway here :)

Sweet Water Frame Giveaway!

2011-10-13T12:32:00.002-06:00

hi lovelies!

How are you?

I'm good, i'm still at the beach enjoying our family vacay!

I know we ALL can't be at the beach so I have good news for you!

Have you heard of Sweet Water Frames?

When I saw these frames, I couldn't believe how cute they were, I wanted them all!

[remember THIS little frame in Blayke's room on her shelf?]

I've never seen any frames like these before, with the detailing and the 45 color choices, yes 45 different colors, they are unbelievable!

Now for the good news:

Sweet Water Frames is giving away this Rasley 4x6 frame

to one lucky reader!

and...you get to pick the color!!!!!

Sweet, right?!

to enter:

1. 'Like' Sweet Water Frame s on facebook [mandatory]

additional entries:

2. Leave a comment on Sweet Water Frames fb page telling them I sent you.

3. Follow Sweet Water Frame's blog.

leave a separate comment here for each entry you complete and tell me which color you want!

Winner will be chosen and announced on Friday, October 21.

good luck!

now go pick out your color!

The Happiest Place on Earth

2011-10-07T12:41:00.000-06:00

The time has come.

We are on our way with my family to the happiest place on earth.....

the beach!

Last time I was there, I was sitting on the sand right there, talking to who is now my mr on the phone.

We weren't even officially dating, just talking, or as he likes to say "courting".

This is the first time he will experience my family's beach vacation.
When my fam goes to the beach, we literally live on the beach, we're total beach bums, its perfect.

Oceanside, California.

Home sweet home

Okay not really my home [born and raised in AZ, remember]

Once even spence said, 'I think you were born in the wrong state.'

That's when I knew he really understood me.

Im jk, but seriously.

Speaking of joking but being serious, Ellen's new book is out.

'Seriously...I'm Kidding'.

I want to read it!!!
[not to worry, i pinned it to my wish list 'per the mr's request' on pinterest]

Adios lovelies!

I'm getting out of this rain/snow and going to soak up some sun before we hibernate in the Salt Lake Valley for the winter.

[pics via my phone]

Zermatt Resort [midway, ut]

2011-10-06T14:30:00.000-06:00

We went to Zermatt Resort last weekend with friends to celebrate our boys and their birthdays.

[their bdays are only 5 days apart].

Zermatt is in Midway, by Heber, just past Park City and it is GORG.E.OUS.

We drove down streets like this...

Saw extra large, beautiful homes like these...

And ate at a quaint little pizza place like this...

We had a blast! We left our little girls at home with their grandparents...

[this was from the water park this summer, and yes, they do have the same swimsuit...not planned, I would totally admit it if it was...I love matching]!

Anyway, Saturday the guys were going to go golfing and we were going to go to the spa and hang out.

[yeah, we're mature]

[the mr and i, we love fall in the mountains!]

Long story short, we had to go with the guys to check them in for their tee time because of the name it was under, I don't know, anyway, they ended up talking us into staying and golfing 9 holes!

You know what, I was excited!

This is where we golfed....

[seriously. gorgeous]

Lucky for me my inner Tiger woods xbox playing and mini golf came out and I actually did pretty dang good.

Spence even said he had to step up his game!

[i'm pretty sure I was the only one saying boo-yah on the course] :)

Obviously, we took golfing VERY seriously...

[hahaha]

No wonder the guys drove ahead of us.

[jk, they didn't know what we were doing]

We had a great time golfing.

Look at that view.

Midway has officially won me over.

We had a great weekend, but as always, it was good to come home to see the baby love. :)

Happy 28th Speney Benny Boo Boo

2011-10-05T08:29:00.001-06:00

Spencer turned 28 on Monday!!!

He was up until 1:30 AM that morning studying for an exam, what a way to ring in your bday huh.

After his exam that morning, he was ready to party, actually he had to work, but then party!

He didn't want a cake....[so out went the football cake idea]...

but he had been craving homemade oreos, so I turned them into mini footballs!

Aren't they so cute?!

[i'll show you how soon :)]

After work [he finished early] B and I picked him up and went to Red Robin for a late lunch.

[you get a free burger on your bday. check out other bday freebies HERE]

Then we came home and I surprised him with a few decorations, the cookies and presents.

[he's holding a picture of his new DVS shoes that he picked out].

Wanna hear something not so cool, but ended up being cool?

He picked out his shoes, emailed me the link, I ordered them a week ago Saturday, [so 1 week and 2 days before his bday] from Zappos.com. They didn't end up shipping them until Thursday..what?..I used to work for an online retail company and that is just not acceptable, you ship the next business day. I had my own office there, with a window, yeah, I was kind of legit.

Anyway... I called Zappos on Monday, the day of his bday, the shoes weren't scheduled to be here until wed evening, between 4 and 5, UPS always comes here between 4 and 5.

I didn't even complain, I didn't ask for anything, I just simply told the guy what happened and the shoes weren't sent until Thursday when I ordered Sat. He was really nice, told me they had a little prob, which they never have, that backed them up and that 100 thousand orders were in front of my order, etc.

The cool part... he told me he'd upgrade me to VIP shipping with Zappos, which means, free next day air shipping forever!

Okay, I'm happy, thats pretty cool.

Then he said, he'd throw in a $35 gift certificate too for the inconvenience.

WOW, okay if it makes you feel better! :) :)

Anyway moral of the story, it doesn't hurt to make a phone call even though I knew the shoes would still be late.

Other moral of the story... Zappos is pretty cool, they won me over just on their customer service and the fact that whenever you buy anything you can return it with no return shipping charges, that is pretty cool.

p.s. did you know they sell more that just shoes?!

OMG!

Along with new shoes, Speney got some new undies, a new t-shirt and his mom made him a photo book of his first few yrs.

[Notice the bakers twine i made? It already came in handy!]

With his birthday money he bought a new Longboard!!!

[i'm was excited when he said he was going to get a longboard, i like longboarding]!

He didn't want a party, but I couldn't help decorating a little bit with the football pennant banner, the touch down tape..

and these lovelies.

[they were from the $1 store! and you know what, he got a big smile in his face when he came home and saw everything, I think he liked it :)]

So, why the football themed birthday?

Well, besides the fact that this guy LOVES him some football, [AZ Cardinals, Utes, Sun Devils], he organized a football team this year with about 12 guys.

He wanted to play football with some guys, so in 2 days, he found a league, recruited 12 guys, [who each had to pay $60], came up with a team name and logo, found a company to make the shirts, got all the guys sizes and # they wanted and started a team, The Crimson Kings.

In 2 days.

He's the QB.

I'm the QB 1 coach, self appointed, obviously. :)

[i also turn into Tami Taylor, coaches wife, for any of you other Friday Night Lights lovers]

I just have to say how proud I am of him.

[yes this is the part where I gush about my mr]

When he wants something, he does it.

He spontaneous, outgoing, funny, quick witted. He goes to school full time, [13 credits] and works part time. His bosses love him [he can charm anyone if he wants to], he's extremely smart, and he's an even better dad and husband.

[look at the guy jumping to block the ball, it cracks be me up]

All of us wifes and kidlets go watch every saturday morning or thursday evening. We have a great time talking and watching and the kids have a great time playing.

Good job Spen. :)

So, Happy Birthday Speney Benny boo boo...

boo boo boo...

I hope you had a wonderful day [actually bday month], you deserve it!

We love you and we are SO proud of you!

love, hil + blayke

[aka...your girls]

TRESemmé Fresh Start Dry Shampoo

2011-10-04T07:00:00.003-06:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TRESemmé. All opinions are 100% mine.
Have you heard of Dry Shampoo? It's awesome! You can go longer without washing your hair, which is better for your hair anyway! They are usually pretty pricey but I have good news...

TRESemmé [which I love, I always use their hairspray] just came out with a new line of dry shampoos that revive your style’s look and feel on days you skip a shampoo.

Introducing TRESemmé Fresh Start Dry Shampoo

It's uniquely formulated to absorb excess oil and remove odor, the full line of dry shampoos rejuvenates hair without a drop of water. [perfect for road trips, camping, etc.] :)

It has a renewing burst of citrus extracts infused into every product, which leaves hair with a clean, fresh scent.

The full line includes...

o Strengthening Dry Shampoo: The formula, with B12 vitamins and keratin, helps strengthen hair and leaves it full of healthy body.

o Volumizing Dry Shampoo: The formula, with mineral clay and citrus, removes oil while injecting hair with salon-gorgeous volume.

o Smoothing Dry Shampoo: The formula, with Vitamin H & Silk Proteins, refreshes your straight style by removing excess oil, impurities and odor to ensure your smooth look lasts.

o Moisturizing Waterless Foam Shampoo: The formula, with Witch Hazel, Citrus, and Aloe Vera, refreshes your hair by removing excess oil, impurities and odor while moisturizing hair.

how to use:

-shake vigorously before use and in between spray bursts for best results.

-lift sections of dry hair and spray lightly at roots

-spray in short bursts, holding 8-12 inches from head

-Don’t spray it like hair spray (all over and continuously)

-leave in for 1-2 minutes.

-use fingertips or a brush to distribute product evenly

-If clogging occurs, remove nozzle and rinse the nozzle under warm water, then reattach.

Check out this video that celeb Julia Allison created to teach people how to use TRESemmé Fresh Start Dry Shampoo properly.

**P.S. She is also giving away a $500 Gift Card to Target to a lucky viewer of the video!!!

To enter:

1. Leave a comment on the YouTube post about why you want to try TRESemmé Fresh Start.

2. Tweet a message containing the URL of the YouTube post as well as the hashtag #TRES*FRESHSTART

Good luck!

Baby Nursery [on a budget]

2011-10-02T22:04:00.006-06:00

Want to see Blayke's room?

We did her whole room on a budget!

It's pink and white and pretty cute if I have to say so myself.

But then again, anything baby is cute!

My mom made this quilt, Blayke loves to look and feel while she is standing in her crib.

Speaking of her crib, remember how it was FREE?! [via craigslist]

We [i] painted it white, it was hard work but worth it! [paint $15]

The bedding was a gift from my in laws at my shower! :)

[my mom made the quilt in her bed]

[crib mattress was $20 through Craigslist, practically brand new] :)

Notice the felt poms I made hanging up in the corner? [$10.49]

This is where I made most of the changes...

[sorry, I couldn't find a before picture, but her blanket was on this wall, above her dresser, and the letters were above her crib on the other wall].

Remember how I refinished her dresser? [$58.75]

It was black, and I changed out the knobs for pink ones!

Notice her 'i am a child of god subway art' hanging proudly. [ended up being about $10, mainly for the paint since I did have to re-do it]

The pink and white "b" monogram I made is on the wall by the door. [$3.58]

Her baby book, [target, gift card] wipes warmer [gift] and precious picture [frame, wedding gift]

Teddy bear and baby monitor [gifts]

I love these letters!

My friend Mindy did them for my baby shower...thanks min :)

The picture frame shelves are from ikea, and were actually kind of a 'splurge' at $30. [okay i totally got some in black too, for our family room, now you know why I felt like they were a splurge, because they totally were]...But, I love them, don't you feel like they just make the room.
And you can change it up whenever you want! :)

I found the picture frame on the left for $4 at a home show!

Isn't it adorable? I love it.

I put in a piece of some scrap fabric I had in the frame since the picture size is only about 2-3 inches. There is something about those little yellow stars in a nursery that make it seem warm and cozy and that only good dreams happen in there. ;)

The pink and white polka dot candle [$3] is from Ikea as well as the picture frame [$5] next to it.

I LOVE this picture. [$3]

I know this may be weird, but it reminded me of Blayke.

The little girl has bright blue eyes and blonde hair.

[now do you see why i thought of blayke?]

But what I love most is that fact that she is next to jesus, looking up and he is putting his arm around her.

So Precious!

[i may or may not tell blayke that is her while she is growing up]

Okay seriously how cute is that pink Roxy clock?

I found it at DI for $1! I love it!

The candle, which I also love, is from Hobby Lobby. [$4.50 with 50% off coupon]

Mini Eiffel tower...from Paris itself!

[My mom, sister, and I went about 5 years ago, I got that one and a large one that is in our family room. Oh and I purchased it on the lawn of the Eiffel tower, how cool is that? [it was something like $2].

I lovvvveeeeee paris.

She has arched ceilings in her room, so above her closet door we put up those flowers which are actually place mats. [gift from our wedding]

Pink garbage can, [$1 section, target].

Changing table and picture frame bow holder, [gifts from my sister...she found the changing table for free, and she found our crib...if you haven't noticed, she's a rockstar deal hunter].

Changing table pad and pink cover, my mom.

[you know what she did for my shower gift, besides those gorgeous quilts, after my baby shower she took me to get me what I needed that I didn't get like lotions, hangers, pad, cover, towels, wash clothes, bottles, etc. It was perfect, and obviously, just what I needed, thanks ma, that is such a great idea]. :)

Blankets were gifts, even I made one of them. :)

The basket on the bottom was thrifted [$1], I sprayed it ivory, it holds all of those lovely diapers. Basket above that is from target [$4] and has headbands, bows, and bracelets. (you know, the necessities).

Gotta love that diaper genie, [purchased through KSL, $20 with 2 refills], especially when her room is on the 3rd floor, it then becomes a necessity.

Well, that's it, that's her room :)

We spent a grand total of....

$196.32!

Pin It

[linking up]

Officially walking

2011-09-30T07:02:00.002-06:00

After a lot of therapy appts
and botox.
Blayke, at 20 months, is walking!

We are so excited and proud of her!
The botox that she had 6 weeks ago relaxed her shoulder, instead of her shoulder being tense [upward and back] she was able to get her balance and learned to walk in the last 6 weeks!
Who knew botox in her shoulder would help her learn to walk!

She's not able to get up to standing on her own yet, but we're working on that.
We just saw the 'botox doc' tuesday, she is amazed with the progress Blayke has made.

Dec 14 we are scheduled for her next round of botox.
This time she will be injected into her hamstring, calf, thumb [she didn't get enough in her thumb last time for it to take affect] and possibly her arm.

Her left leg is so tight, it's hard for her to straighten it.
That's why we're having a little bit of a problem trying to have her get to standing on her own. When she is trying to stand she can't pull her leg all the way forward [when she's on hands and feet] to get to standing. [does that make any sense?!]
The dr wants her to get 2 more months of walking before the botox though.
Once she does get it, she'll be learning to walk all over again. Her muscles that are so tight now are going to be so relaxed, it's going to throw her off, but it should only take a week or 2 for her to learn.

And of course, what comes with botox ....[besides the dreaded anesthesia]....intense therapy.
This time we'll be seeing her PT and OT at primary's for intense therapy since they are doing both the leg and thumb.
[PT's focus on the waist down, OT's focus on the arms and hands]

So since Blayke is walking, there's even more good news, we get a break from PT until botox!
Our OT is also giving us a break until then! They've seen better results in kids when they give them a break, right now it's important for Blayke to walk and explore her new world. We have a couple more appts with each of them, then we'll go on our 6 week break.

Like my mom said, I don't know what i'm going to do with myself.

We've been having daily appts.
[we've been doing intense therapy with her OT, while seeing her other 4 therapists (1 PT, another OT and 2 ST's on a regular schedule, which doesn't count the splinting/casting, botox, and mommy & me class appts]

We'll still continue our therapy through early intervention [they come to our house, which is so nice] but we won't have as many appts!

Going from daily appts to 2 appts a week [for 6 weeks] sounds good to me!

After Dec 14, now that's a different story....

[don't mind the oven timer going off in the background of the video] :)

ck skinny's

2011-09-28T08:06:00.000-06:00

me-shirt: old navy [$11.50]. undershirt: bella bird [$9]. gray jeans: old navy [$22]. shoes: Toms [gift from the mr]

B-shirt: carter's [$8]. Jeans: Calvin Klein skinny's via the godfather. Shoes: Tiny Toms [$28 via grandma] & See Kai Run shoes [$30]

Blayke has a godfather. He's awesome.
He buys her the cutest clothes like these calvin klein skinny jeans!

[here he is with blayke in the hospital right after she was born]

So cute huh!

Now B and I can coordinate with our skinny's [but i sure don't have ck's] and our toms.

Oh and notice what she is doing in these pictures???

She's WALKING!

Walking :)

I love that......she. is. walking.

Go baby go!

[linking up]

Growing up

2011-09-27T08:30:00.027-06:00

[blurry phone pics again]

2 appts at Primary's this week.

We had our first appt yesterday with an Opthamologist to see if her vision in her left eye has been affected by her stroke.

They dilated her eyes, but we left with good news, he didn't see any signs of weakness!
[For now at least].
There may be some, but she is so young it's hard to tell right now, so we will do annual eye exams to keep up on it.
He also told me what to look for and to come in if I think we need to.

I left the hospital so grateful and humbled that those gorgeous blues are able to see the world. :)
So grateful.

Today we are going to see her PM&R doc.

It's been 6 weeks since her botox injections.

It went so fast, I wish botox was permanent.

[i'm sure a lot of other people do too] ;)

But, time to evaluate the experience and make another plan. :)

On Sunday, Blayke went to nursery all by herself!
I went with her the last 2 times to make sure she'd be okay. Then I realized I didn't want her to think it was a place for both of us to be, especially since we started a mommy and me singing class a few weeks ago through our therapy program.
I didn't want her to think it was like that, a place for mommy to be too.

She's not attached to us, and we didn't want that to become an issue. She really likes playing with other kids, so we figured she was ready.

She loved it, she didn't look back once when we left.

I didn't think she would be ready so fast, I wasn't prepared for that! But she loves it, which makes us so happy. The leaders are awesome, and I know they kept a close eye on her for me, which I really appreciate.

At one point they go into the primary room and have singing time, when I took her before she loved it! It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen!

I teach sunbeams so I was busy, but I peeked in at singing time and she had her arms streteched above her head for the snowman song.

Oh my gosh. it. melted. my. heart.

My baby is growing up.

I am SO, SO proud of her.

[her purse is a crack up huh?! wondering what's inside?
her sacrament cup and paci, duh]!
hahahaha

Bakers Twine Tutorial

2011-09-25T22:31:00.002-06:00

Bakers twine.

Super cute, but super expensive.

[the average I've seen is $10 for just 1 color...no bueno]

Then the other day I saw THIS video and you can make your own bakers twine!

Grab your supplies.

I got the crochet thread at Joann's for $3.27. They also have it at Wal-Mart.

Follow the instructions on the video to get started.

It's super easy, but I think it's definitely one of those projects you do while watching a movie. [or keeping up with the kardashians and Gulianna and Bill, even if you do have to drive down to your parents house because your mom records them for you since you don't have cable]. ;)

Before you know it you'll have some in every color.

It looks just like the real thing!

And for 1/3 of the cost!

To keep it from getting in knots, you could wrap it around some of those cardboard ribbon holders.

[good idea mom] :)

Think of all the baker's twine possibilities...especially with the holidays coming up!

[via pinterest]

$3.27 for all the baker's twine you want, in as many colors as you want.

brilliant!

Pin It

[linking up]

Cheep Boutique

2011-09-24T08:24:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's already Saturday! Where did this week go?

We had friends in town this week, so we were a little busy, and stayed up wayyyy to late.

Did you know Blayke has a Godfather?

It's true. He was in town this week and bought her the cutest clothes you've ever seen.

Don't worry, you'll see pictures...soon!

Anyway, I have something very very cool to tell you about....think Groupon [or any daily deal sitel] meets Etsy.
[yeah, it's that good] :)

A place where there are daily deals on handcrafted items. And they are at least 30% off!

Cheep Boutique.

2 of my favorite words together at last! :)

Click on the picture and come check it out!

So far I have seen SUPER cute things and the best part is they are all handmade!

[today's deal is halloween printables for $4]!!!!!

if you are having a halloween party, these printables are a must :)

They also have this Nautical Charm Bracelet for over 50% off

i want one!

....mister, i have a christmas idea for you....

Check out this hand crocheted pumpkin hat for $9

So stinkin cute huh!

Cheep Boutique,
go check them out!

P Love [pinterest]

2011-09-20T09:23:00.000-06:00

Pinterest.

You gotta love it. I like to think of it as blogging on crack. You can be inspired/motivated in 10 minutes, i love it!

You PIN your INTERESTS, get it? Pinterest. So all those good ideas you see all over the net, you 'pin' and you have them all in one place.

Genius!

the mr had a great idea last night, i should make a 'board' of things i would want for christmas/bday/etc, then he'll just check my pinterest to see what i want!

even more genius!

[i'll get working on that honey] ;)

Anyway, here are just a few pins...

Look at this baby nursery....omg... it is gorge!

these baby shoes...i am dying!

shoes for mama! LOVE them!

okay she is just really pretty, I wish i looked like her. and i really like her scarf and her simple look.

i am loving the white with the dark floors in this kitchen

this outdoor space, love, but minus the antlers...sorry we just don't hunt. :)

Really? I could eat these all day long.

and this, it's just gorgeous. it also makes me really excited for late night walks on the beach!

t minus 18 days!

love it yet? i knew you would! :)

all these pics you can find on my pinterest. :)

Express Jeans Giveaway

2011-09-16T16:26:00.000-06:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Express. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fall is almost here. You can really feel it in the air now.

Being from AZ, it's a little weird because it usually doesn't start feeling like this until right before Thanksgiving.

I didn't think I'd ever say this but, I'm actually a little excited for summer to be over.

Fall is good, fall is pretty...fall is cardigans and jeans :)

So, good news Ladies...

Express, yes Express, is giving away 50 pairs of Express jeans! All you have to do is go to Express giveaway to enter to win!

Have you seen their women's jeans lately? They are so cute!

I love their jeans leggings!

They are perfect to wear with boots. I'm pretty sure I need some of these for winter this year. ;)

And then there are the dark wash flare jeans..

love them!

And, you have to see these red jeans...

Okay I didn't think I was brave enough to wear red jeans, but now I totally want them :)

Colored jeans are so hot right now, especially in red, gray and white.

So, go enter the giveaway!

Who wouldn't want a free pair of Express Jeans?!

p.s. Let me know in the comments which jeans you love and why!

a baby stroke

2011-09-15T08:07:00.002-06:00

A Baby Stroke.com, my other blog, was nominated for Parents Magazine a Best Blog Award in the Special Needs Category!

By Best Special Needs Blog

Please go vote for it!

[the other blogs have been in the contest for almost a month, so we need lots of votes to catch up]!

Just register and click VOTE for A Baby Stroke.

Voting is open until Oct. 15, so feel free to spread the word!

It's easy and you only have to vote once!!

[i'm sorry you have to register, but i promise you'll never get an emails or anything, just make sure you click that box]!

A Baby Stroke started because I wanted a place to share about my own little stroke survivor [Blayke], but it is also a place for others to share their stories and experiences!

When we found out about Blayke's stroke, almost a year ago, we felt SO alone! We and everyone we talked to didn't even know babies could have strokes. We felt like we were the only ones going through this.

I needed to hear some real life stories to know what to expect, for comfort and most of all, for hope.

Please help us raise Infant Stroke Awareness and vote for A Baby Stroke as the best Special Needs Blog.

Go here or click on the button above to vote! http://www.parents.com/blog-awards/mom_blogs/983-a-baby-stroke

[blayke and sophie, both suffered a stroke at or before birth]

A Baby Stroke.com

thank you, thank you, thank you!

:)

the paparazzi

2011-09-14T15:18:00.005-06:00

turns out when the mr takes pictures, he's like the paparazzi. He's snapping and turning the camera faster then i've ever seen, it's like crazy. Which is good in a way, just makes for some blurry pics.

[shirt: H&M, cardigan: forever 21. coral belt: American Eagle. cropped jeans, sandals: Charlotte Russe]

It probably didn't help that we were ~~running late~~ on the way to my brother's birthday dinner that his cute wife set up at The Pie.

Yeah, you salt lakers know what i'm talking about...

good pizza!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BROTHER!!!

[isn't his outfit from back in the day awesome?!!]

i think so!

linking up to:

pleated poppy

mamma go round

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies [halloween edition]

2011-09-11T21:13:00.001-06:00

What is it when you see something, like Oreo's for example, and they're all holidayed out, with simply just a different color added, [like orange cream instead of white] that makes you want to have them so bad?

I don't know people, but it works.

Good marketing on their part right.

I was pretty excited the other day about something, and I've realized, I like to bake when I'm excited.

I saw the Oreo's sitting in our pantry and remembered my cousins recipe for oreo stuffed choc chip cookies.

I decided to try them and yes, they are delish!

Don't lie, the orange cream in the middle instead of white is tempting you even more right now huh?
I know people, I know. :)

They are definitely worth trying.

People are amazed when they see the gigantic size, then to find out there's an oreo in there, who can resist that?

Grab the recipe HERE. :)

You want to know what I was exited about right?

Blayke walked over 75 feet [yes, we count, actually they just know how long their walls are] at therapy the other day.

75 feet, without falling, with stopping, turning corners and surface changes.

Oh, I was excited.

Her therapist had chills.

Once she is able to get up on her own after she falls, she will officially be walking.

oh and one more thing...her PT said something that made me even more excited.

"No walker for you miss Blayke."

Bless that little Blayke's heart.

She doesn't need a walker.

[linking up here]

what we wore

2011-09-07T08:31:00.003-06:00

[shirt: forever 21, gift card. undershirt: bella bird, $9. pants: altered from pants, tj maxx, $14. sandals: target, $10. sunglasses: american eagle via swagg]

total: $33.00

i like clothes.

like a lot.

so why not talk about it right?

this is my first what i wore wed, I would be lying if I said I didn't feel totally awkward having the mr take pics of me.

But i did it anyway.

It must get easier right?

[what b is wearing: shorts with belt: h&m, $8. shirt: walmart, $3. shoes: new pink toms, gift]

total: $11
:)

I really like dressing Blayke.

That's why we have girls right, to play dress up.

She's my best accessory.

[linking up]

Picture Frame Menu Board

2011-09-04T21:37:00.001-06:00

I've needed something like this for a while.
Somewhere where I can write down what we are having each night instead of on the grocery list that i always end up throwing away.

I used the silhouette at my madre's house to cut out my letters. :)

Put your letters on the glass of a picture frame.

I got mine at DI for $2.

Use some scrapbook paper to put in the frame and grab a dry erase marker and you're set!

[i'm not quite sure about the polka dots yet...but it is pretty easy to change it up] :)

breakdown:

frame $2.

paper $1

total: $3.00!

[linking up here]

Tiny Toms for the Tiny Tot

2011-09-03T12:25:00.001-06:00

It's true.

The tiny tot, got some tiny toms.

How do you resist when they are that cute?

you don't.

well, grandma doesn't.

she knew B needed some extra TLC this week.

and when you have to shop at nordstroms for her shoes,

tom's happen.

tiny toms in sparkly pink...

the cutest things i've ever seen on her tiny feet.

Road Construction

2011-08-31T14:02:00.182-06:00

[is this not the most precious, yet heartbreaking, picture you've ever seen?]

[i'm so sorry baby]

Dear Blaykey girl,

you got a cast the other day on your right [good] arm.

You didn't break anything.

This is part of the intense therapy we are doing, called constraint therapy, to coincide with the botox injections you had 2 weeks ago.

The cast is to make you use your left arm/ hand. I know it's tough and it really doesn't make any sense but it's just for 1 week. You will be getting another cast after that called a bivalve cast, but that one we can take on and off! :)

I know you get frustrated because you can't pick up anything.
You can't pick up and hold your sippy.
You can't feed yourself a cracker.
Even playing with toys is challenge.
That's what I am here for, to help you open your hand to grasp, to help you release, to help you accomplish whatever it is you are trying to do.
You are keeping me on my toes baby girl, but it's okay!
The dr said I should prepare for this week by listening to the music from the movie Rocky to get pumped up because it would be tough, he was right! :)

Since the cast is covering your fingers and almost up to your armpit, you're not able to sign. This has also been frustrating for you that you can't communicate what you want.
You're doing awesome though, you try to say it when I say what it is you want.
You're working very hard!

I know this has changed your world upside down. But we only have 5 days left.
Miss Lisa came over that afternoon after your cast was put on for OT.
She said every move you make with your left hand you have to think very carefully about, so not only is it physically exhausting for you it is mentally draining as well.

Last night you had a bath.

We were looking forward to bath time, most people don't when they have a cast on.

But for you, this was an activity where you could sit, splash, have a break, have fun and give your brain a rest.

[we wrapped your arm in 2 grocery bags and medical tape, it stayed totally dry, daddy and I were pretty proud of ourselves!]

We've been going on walks every evening too, to give you a little break.
Everything else in the day from eating, to playing with toys is hard work.
Everything is therapy this week.

You already learned to crawl with the cast on your arm, and butt scoot, like you're doing in this picture. [it's a good thing you learned to crawl before butt scooting, otherwise we'd be in big trouble from miss megan and michael] :)
We are so happy you are able to get around on your own! And so are you!!

The last 2 nights you've had a really hard time going to sleep.
I know you want it off, I'm sorry.
Last night you did better, you only woke up 3 times after you went down.
The first night you woke up about 5 times and cried and cried.
We rocked, we read books, we snuggled.
I wanted to take off the cast that night.
[mommy will take it off when it's time, they showed me how] :)

But then it hit me that night, you were exhausted and upset, I was exhausted, but we need to look at this differently.
We need to look at this with what is happening in your brain this week, some pretty important stuff.
This week is so, so important, we are laying foundations for the rest of your life.

It's like road construction.
All those pathways and roads that were on the right side of your brain, where the injury was, are moving to the left side of your brain.
Your brain is working harder than ever to make new pathways and roads for you to use your left arm. New foundations are being set, those pathways are fitting in wherever they can.
Every time you use your left arm, your brain is hard at work.
Every time your left hand goes above your head, new roads are being built.
Every time you feel a new texture, new pathways are being made.
Every time you reach with your left arm, new roads are being built.
Every time you grasp and release with you left hand, those pathways are getting stronger.
It's pretty amazing Blayke, you're going to control the left side of your body with the left side of your brain.
That is SO amazing.
I know it's hard and I know it's tiring, but once the construction is finished it will be so, so worth it.

but it's okay for you to hate it baby girl,

everybody hates road construction.

well said..."Welcome to Holland"

2011-08-28T22:14:00.001-06:00

I saw this on a blog the other day and I can't help but share. So, so, so dang true.

"Welcome to Holland"

by emily perl kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.
And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

welcome

holland

little

family.

Welcome.

botox diaries

2011-08-25T15:35:00.001-06:00

It's been 1 week since Blayke's injections.

I've been trying to document everything so we can see the difference.

[Botox injected into the muscles takes 4-6 days to take effect. She was injected into her left shoulder, arm, thumb. She has hemiplegia, which is cerebral palsy. Botox was injected to relax her muscles and to help her become more aware of the left side of her body].

Day 4: Sunday. Around 2:00 I realized it was day 4, panic set in. We didn't notice a difference. It's not going to work. What if it doesn't work. We don't have another appt for 5 more weeks with the PM&R dr. What is she going to say? What are we going do? This might not work.

Ok, breathe hil, it's only day 4. They said 4 to 6 days.

Day 5. I took Blayke swimming and we had ST [speech therapy]. At home later that evening, she was playing with her friend while we were watching Bachelor Pad, I glanced over to her and instantly had a thought that maybe she will be just fine by the time she goes to school. No braces, no splints, not behind developmentally, she's going to be okay. I haven't had that thought in a long, long time.

Day 6. 2 OT [occupational therapy] appts, her shoulder is relaxed. The botox did work! Her thumb still tends to stay tucked in, maybe it didn't get enough. They didn't do botox in her finger flexors. Her hand still tends to be tight. But, she is opening and using it more.

Day 7. PT appt and meeting in the hallway at the clinic with her OT, Splint Specialist, PT and child specialist to talk about and go over what is coming up. Blayke is close to walking. Did laps in the building without a walker. She likes holding hands to walk, it's now a lack of confidence thing. (something in the works coming up to help with that...i have homework this week...to make it. :)

Day 7 evening: Practiced walking back and forth between mommy and daddy at home...well it was so good, we had to get the video camera.

[sorry the video's are a little dark]

[Do you like Blayke's pj's, we call them her Hefner pj's...haha :) Weird thing is, I don't even know where the came from].

She walked about 10 feet last night!! I know for most kids, that's nothing, but for us, it's HUGE. We are so excited, we hope she'll be walking soon. She's been doing a few steps on her own for months.

We thought she'd be walking by June, that was our goal.

Now our goal is by October. If not then, we're hoping by the time she is 2.

People sometimes tell me that I should be glad that she's not walking, because I don't have to go chase her in restaurants, or this and that. [i heard the same thing before she started crawling]

What they don't know, or maybe just don't realize, is how hard we have been working on walking.

They don't know how many hours we have put into this.

How many ideas and strategies have been put into this.

How thousands of dollars has been put into therapies, appts, etc.

How 1 month ago we were a few weeks from starting the paperwork process through insurance of getting her a walker.

How many doctors and therapists are behind this, trying to figure out the best way to do this.

They don't know how hard it is to watch you baby struggle everyday.

They don't know how hard it is to carry your toddler everywhere, while carrying everything else because you don't have the option to put her down to stand [let alone walk] even for a second.

They don't know what it feels like to see kids half her age walking.

To tell someone when they ask how old, that your child is 19 months. And you can tell they don't know what to say. But then its followed with, don't worry he's 12 months old, he's getting close, but not walking yet either. [thanks, now i feel like she is 7 months behind, instead of none like her dr keeps trying to convince me, because it's still "okay" to start walking between 15-18 months].

And then there's the looks. When people you can feel people staring at you and her brace

But, I need to be grateful.

It could be worse.

And, i think something good just might be on the horizon...