Curtis, Crystal, & Lily Rue

Blog Book 2011

2012-02-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

I am about to print out the second blog book. It will mainly consist of 2011 and the many things we have done this year. This blog has been such a blessing in disguise as it has kept so many memories, pictures, and experiences together in one place. It is a great journal!

To Curtis: 2011 wasn't the easiest year but we somehow got through it. You graduated from college, got a wonderful job, and I couldn't be more proud. I love you more than I can ever describe. It isn't always easy but it is worth it. Thank you for being my best friend and for sharing this life with me. Yours forever.

To Lily: I can't believe that you are 2 years old. This last year you have grown and thrived in ways I never knew. It hasn't been easy dealing with the stress of your allergy but you are such an amazing little girl. You are so incredibly smart and have such a sweet and feisty personality. I honestly couldn't be prouder. I hope for the best for you, always! I pray that you will continue to grow and learn and always be happy. Your dad and I love you so much.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2012-02-15T20:34:00.000-07:00

Curtis went to Targhee this weekend while I stayed home and watched my sister's kids. He came home Monday night which I was glad for because we got to spend V-day together. Curtis stayed home with Lily Tuesday and met me for lunch at Sushi Tokyo. YUM! After work we decided to go to a movie and Curtis' mom Joan came and stayed with Lily. She didn't take a nap and was asleep by 6:30pm. We went to Safe house and had a great Valentine's Day. Below are some pictures of things I have made from Pinterest. Love Pinterest!!

Spaghetti Bake

Olive Garden Breadsticks-they are AMAZING! Taste just like the real thing

Tres Leche

Hershey's hugs and pretzels and chocolate covered strawberries-my gift to Curtis

Curtis' skiing trip-the size of that mountain is way too huge.

Lily enjoying Miso soup

Happy Birthday Seth!

2012-02-09T22:16:00.001-07:00

Two posts in one day?! Must be a new record. I need to print my second blog book so I am getting in all the posts I can.

Today after work I started my weekend of 6 kids. Tonight was Seth's 5th bday so after getting Lily and Anne's 4 kids (one was at dance) we went to McDonald's.

I hate McDonald's. I can't stress that enough.

I hate McDonald's.

I was originally going to have Curtis stay home with Lily and I would take Anne's kids but somehow I got talked into letting Curtis and Lily go too.

Lily was so happy, she had so much fun. For now, I am glad she went. In about 2 days when she is sick and having to go to daycare every day next week cause Anne is gone, I will probably hate it. Oh well. Too late.

Gabe, Evie, Jess, Lily, and birthday boy Seth!

Olivia

Dexter Clyde

Happy Birthday Seth!

Randomness

2012-02-09T12:35:00.002-07:00

I thought I would post a few cute random pictures from the month.

Life has been good, Curtis is going skiing this weekend and I will be home watching 6 children. Don't ask.

I will probably be happy to get back to work Monday.

For now though, I have discovered a very relaxing thing to do during lunch. I come to Barnes and Noble, put my headphones in (Thanks Chad and Sierra for Angry Bird headphones) and blog or look at pinterest. It's great to have an hour to myself. I don't do it every day but I do enjoy it the days I get here.

Grandma Joan bought Avery and Lily their very own ice cream cones. Avery was stoked!!

I had to add this picture because Lily put her tutu skirt on herself and then I asked her to get her shoes and she picked these red ones out. Curtis was very embarrassed going to Walmart this way. I thought it was hilarious!

Time to face reality

2012-02-03T07:54:00.002-07:00

I have avoided posting about Lily's allergy to nuts since she was diagnosed. (Which was the end of June 2011) I am in denial yet very much aware of it. So first, I will start with the same question I always get when anyone finds out about her allergy. How did you know she had a peanut allergy? As with all children, it is advised not to feed them nuts until they are a year old. At 14 months old I gave Lily and peanut butter sandwich and she was fine. About a week later I gave her another and she took her hand, covered in peanut butter, and touched her face. She had hives the shape of her hand.

From that day on, to anyone caring for Lily, I asked for no nuts, especially peanuts. At any checkup I took Lily to I explained the situation and requested a referral to the allergist. For one reason or another they kept denying me. It was probably because she was so young. Finally, I convinced someone to. I took in these pictures because I didn't want them to just think I was a little bit crazy. After all, everyone else did. I had family members giving me a hard time. I am a bit protective of Lily since birth but one thing I have learned is to trust a mother's instinct.

The allergist took one look at my pictures and ordered allergy testing along with a blood test. They tested for 8 different things including dairy, corn, eggs, tomatoes, peanuts, and a few others I can't think of at the moment. Here are pictures of her reaction. Keep in mind they usually wait 20 minutes for the full results. It took Lily about 7 minutes to react as badly as it did.

Obviously, the largest hive is the reaction to the peanut. She is also slightly allergic to eggs. The Dr. asked me if Lily ever threw eggs I gave her on the floor, I said yes. He told me that it's her way of telling me that it makes her belly hurt. I just thought she was being a brat. The egg thing at this time isn't a big deal. I still don't give her straight cooked eggs but she can have anything baked at high temp. and things like French toast. We had to do her flu shot at the allergist since it's in an egg base and it went fine. She usually gets eczema but didn't with the shot which was good.

By the way, before I go on, did you know if your child has eczema there is a good chance he/she is allergic to something? They have linked those together which I never knew. In fact, the winter before Lily turned one, she was having a lot of eczema problems and the Dr. would have me put steroid cream on. It would work for a time but always come back. Finally I knew why. The most frustrating thing about allergies is that every kid is different, every food or allergen is different, how people react, etc. The truth is, and this coming from the Dr., is that things he told me last July will probably change next year. There are always new tests, new info they are finding out.

So now I had a diagnosis. Even though I went in pretty much knowing, it didn't make it any easier. I was devastated.. After the large hive popped up they drew blood. Drawing blood on an 18 month old is almost cruel and unusual punishment. Lily has been through the ringer in her short life and was never afraid of doctors but after that blood draw, anyone with a stethoscope around their neck she instantly hated. Ggggrreeeaaaattt.

We left with instructions to get lots of benadryl and Rx for epipens.

The blood test came back 2 weeks later and showed that not only was she allergic to peanuts but even more so to cashews and pistachios. (Tropical nuts) She tested ok with almonds, pecans, and walnuts but the Dr. said no nuts whatsoever. So this is where we are at. Why am I posting this now? For the most part Lily just has had a hive or two from contact. I try very hard to make sure she isn't coming in contact with nuts. A lot of Lily not being exposed is up to who is caring for her. It's very difficult. Only 20% outgrow this. The trick is making sure she isn't exposed or it raises her antibodies which can make it more likely she won't ever outgrow it. The other night there was chinese food with cashew chicken. I fed Lily just rice, chow mein, and a few sweet and sour chicken. Very quickly her chin turned red. Both hands and wrists popped up with hives. It was fast.

Big deal, just hives? It was a reality slap to the face. It showed me just how quick she reacted and it was time to face the reality that we will probably live with this forever. And the day will come that I will have to use that epipen. And if I don't or if a babysitter doesn't? She could die.

The other day this is how I finally saw this nut allergy...in my career a huge part of school is spent on infection control. I touch blood and saliva and I touch pens, and the glasses, instruments, etc,etc. Everything I touch throughout an appointment has got to be wiped down. Would you want to come into a room after someone with Hep C knowing the room wasn't properly sterilized? This is how this nut allergy is-someone eats some nuts, touches the remote, then Lily touches the remote. There, she is exposed. I have a million and one thoughts of this every day. Just tonight we were at Gerties eating pizza and they asked if we wanted cashew chicken. Curtis started saying yes before I stopped him and said we better not. Because we eat off that fork, it's on our lips, we kiss Lily or feed her off our fork-she is exposed. We have eaten peanut butter sandwiches before and then kissed Lily and hives popped up. Exposed! See how frustrating this is?! It's bad enough I have to think this way at work with blood/saliva, it's quite another at home.

The first thing the Doctor said to me is to trust your instincts. He told me if people were not going to respect this allergy then they have no business watching Lily. He said the older generation would be the hardest to teach and get to accept and treat this the correct way. He told me to have anyone who thought I was crazy or stupid to call him. And he meant it. He is such a wonderful Dr. He is the only person who has somewhat eased my mind about it.

So here is what I ask. I know that I am a bossy, stubborn person and I get worse when it ever comes to Lily. Please, please respect me when I ask anything specific with her. I promise you I am not just being overprotective. I promise you I am doing everything in my power to keep Lily from EVER needing that Epipen. The second she needs that, her life is on the line. I am NOT being over dramatic. I promise you that what I am doing with her is everything the Dr. ordered. I pray daily that she will overcome this but I will not be naive about it either. I have gone through a lot with this child and I will keep fighting.

I just want to add one thing-this isn't directed towards anyone. I wrote this post for myself because I blog as a form of therapy.

Family pictures 2012 and Lily's 2 year pics

2012-01-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

Kristy Anderson of http://vcandcophotography.blogspot.com/ did Lily's pictures. She did such an incredible job and we are just thrilled with how they turned out. If anyone would like her as a photographer you better hurry because she is moving soon!

Happy Birthday Party!

2012-01-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, she's 2! The below pictures are how I did her invitations. They were pretty cute!

Our day started out bright and early. She woke up at 7:30am which was too bad because by noon she was ready for a nap but the party began. Lily is loved by so many! We had a great time. I had ordered 8 pizzas from Dominoes and at the last minute added 2 more and thank goodness I did because at this time they are all gone :) Her cake was from Costco and we even had a pinata which the kids loved. There was enough candy for the kids to get almost a zip lock full each.

Kara and Crystal

Lily had opening gifts down! Most came in bags and she would just shake the bag upside down until it fell out.

Like my face? Lily wasn't in the mood to open gifts so I just decided to.

Happy 2nd Birthday Lily Rue

2012-01-27T21:04:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today, Lily Rue Emery entered this world gasping for air, fighting for her life. This day is hard on mommy. It brings everything back. I looked at Lily all day thanking Heavenly Father for her life, her crazy personality, her brain, and mostly, her health. We are so lucky to have her. We just can't believe it's been two years. Two crazy, fun filled, scary, fulfilling years. Lily is awesome. Plain and simple.

We had a great day. She would say all day, "it's my birthday." I would ask, "how old are you Lily?" "Two!" In the bath tub this morning she was singing Happy Birthday to herself. Of course she doesn't know what it all means but I made sure her day was extra fun and extra special. She got two (xylitol) suckers, fruit snacks, & animal crackers. Don't worry, she ate good, healthy food too. We did her two years pictures done by Kristy Anderson. Kristy was awesome, patient, and I can't wait to see the pictures. We also finished up our preparations for her party tomorrow and soaked in my parents hot tub before bed. More to come tomorrow to keep our celebration going.

I did it, I finally went skiing

2012-01-22T14:17:00.002-07:00

Curtis and I have been together for 11 years, since High School. He has been trying to get me to go skiing for at least the last 10 years. I have always had an excuse or reason not to. I am terrified of skiing. As a child, my family went all the time. I was terrible at it. I would fall, I was scared of heights, I would have to ride down the mountain in between my mom's legs cause I just couldn't get the skills down. I hate skiing. But I finally told Curtis I would try it this year. We found skis, boots, and goggles at a yard sale this summer for $10. How can you pass on a deal like that? At the time I agreed, winter seemed so far away...

But then it snowed. Curtis finally got me to agree to go skiing this weekend. I was dreading it. My Friday was ruined stressing about it. All day Saturday was ruined stressing about it. We got some friends to go with us night skiing Saturday night and I am so glad they did. My AWESOME friend Katie agreed to come and help me. She is a teacher as it is and VERY patient. I knew Curtis would try to teach me but I also was afraid he would lose his patience with me. We met Josh and Amanda Powell up there as well. Amanda sat this weekend out but her husband Josh snowboards.

Getting ready

The drive up was crazy. Curtis kept saying the wind won't be as bad up there, it'll be snowing but calm. The drive was the worst part of the day. Katie was really good at distracting me as my anxiety level rose. I am a wuss when it comes to heights.

Katie and Crystal

Getting ready is the hardest part of skiing I have discovered. But once you are toasty warm in about 6 layers of clothes it isn't too bad!

These are my before shots.

So we get out and spend 5 minutes trying to get my skis on! I am definitely a newbie. It's been 17 years since I last skied. For me to ski, is to some like jumping out of an airplane (of course I'd never do that either but you see my point). Curtis and I ride up the ski lift together. The weather is awful. It is terribly windy, snowing, pretty much blizzard conditions. Both Curtis, Katie, and Josh said it was some of the worst weather they had skied/snowboarded in. Great! I am not one for cold but I was layered enough that it didn't bother me, thankfully.

So the end of the lift is coming and Curtis is giving me instructions on how to get off. I about had a panic attack right then and there. But then, I did it! We went down Milk first. Curtis stayed in front and Katie behind. I loved my teachers. I remembered enough as a kid to get started. On my first run down Milk I only fell once. I can't tell you how big of a deal that was for me. The only reason I fell was because there was a pole clear ahead of me but I panicked and pretty much sat down. It was hilarious.

After a second run on Milk Katie and I sent Curtis to go with Josh. They are both good and we didn't want to hold them back. Katie was so awesome and sweet to stay with me the entire night. She would ski behind me in case I fell. The weather was so bad that after 3 runs we took a break. After some chili cheese fries and hot chocolate, back on the mountain we went. The blizzard was getting worse. The ski lift up was miserable. Katie asked if I was ok with just one more run but after we got down I asked to go just one more time. It was all we could do because they were closing the mountain down at 8pm cause the conditions were worse. I was regretting my decision however, when we were back on the ski lift swaying back and forth freezing our butts off! Thanks Katie for the last run! We even outlasted the boys.

Look how happy Curtis is that I went. And I actually liked it!

Katie, I love you for going! You were an amazing teacher.

The drive off the mountain was pretty easy. We lined up in vehicles and followed the snow plow down. My Kia was AWESOME again in the snow. I am just thrilled!

My reward for successfully skiing.

One of Lily's first 2nd Birthday Parties

2012-01-22T13:51:00.001-07:00

My parents left for their annual Cabo trip so we celebrated Lily's 2nd bday last weekend. Here are some pics.

New Years Ever

2012-01-22T13:09:00.001-07:00

I am behind on posting pictures so you're going to get a bunch of posts today. My blog is open again for the time being because I am printing out my blog and it has to be open to do so. For New Years we went to Boise so Curtis could go skiing and I could go shopping.

Dropping off Donations at the Ronald McDonald house.

Sierra took these pictures while I went inside to fill my info out. She got this perfect picture of Lily looking up at Ronald. I got the same picture when Lily was 6 months old.

6 Months old

Alicia made the 3 cousins outfits to match and we kept meaning to do pictures. Here are a few I got. Of course, taking pictures with 3 kids under 2 doesn't always give the perfect pictures.

Sweet Lucy

AWD!

2012-01-18T20:28:00.001-07:00

In August we started thinking about getting me a new car because mine was over 7 years old and about to hit 100,000 miles. I hadn't had a car payment in 3 years so it made it hard to have one again. We thought about it, looked at finances, made a pros and cons list, and finally decided to do it. We did our research and wanted a cross over SUV that would fit 7 but comfortable with 5 people. I wanted AWD, leather seats, and a few other perks. We looked at consumer reports and decided to get a Kia Sorento. It was 2nd only to the Nissan Pathfinder but we decided not to go with Nissan cause they are so much more expensive and drive like a truck.

This car has been awesome. It has everything in it that I need/want. The best part though was today. The #1 pro on my list was AWD. My mazda was awesome but it was terrible in the snow. It had 17 inch wheels and every year I would get stuck. I was so tired of it. It's humiliating. So we bought a new car. Then what happens this winter? No snow! But then today the clouds opened up and it snowed and I got to test my new car out. It was awesome. It went when I needed it to go, it stopped when I needed to stop. I came home and hugged Curtis and said thank you for letting me get a new car! Hopefully, I will be blessed enough to never get stuck in the snow again.

My almost two year old...

2012-01-18T20:09:00.001-07:00

This has been a day. My almost two year old is starting to freak me out. She is too smart, very independent, and figuring things out that I am not ready for. In the past week she has figured out that she knows how to open doors. I know a lot of kids figure this out earlier but we really discouraged it. :) Now, she walks in on me when I am in the bathroom, in the shower, into the office and plays on the computer, etc, etc. I am sad. Today, she figured out how to get out of her pack and play. My sister is talking about having to put together her extra crib. Sorry Anne.

On the plus side, she is able to tell us now that her tummy hurts. The other day she had the flu and said, "mama, my tummy hurt." About 30 minutes later she threw up. Tonight she started crying and I asked what was wrong and she said, "my ear hurt." She knows most of her colors, can count to about 8, gets to about G in the alphabet, likes to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, clean up song, yummy in my tummy, ring around the Rosie, and random words in sacrament meeting during the hymn. Of course she doesn't sing them perfect but it's cute nonetheless. More to come...

Too smart

2012-01-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

This story is the perfect example of just how smart and naughty my child is. Curtis has been putting a puzzle together since yesterday and we keep telling Lily she can't touch it. This morning she was holding her lamb and knew she wasn't suppose to touch the puzzle pieces, so you know what she does? She takes her lamb's hand and touches them. Over and over again. We just laughed and then told her that lamb couldn't touch them either. Prime example of what lies ahead. Smart little bugger.

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-27T17:43:00.001-07:00

Lily was so good Christmas morning, posing whenever I needed her to.

The bear she is holding is a Scentsy bear where all the proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald House. She just had to have one!

Her first and most favorite gift was her doll. It came with a bottle, blanket, and binki that she popped right in her mouth.

Curtis made her this crib from an idea off of Pinterest. We didn't get it sanded or painted yet but she loves putting her baby in and covering her with a blanket.

It was all I could do to coax her to come and open more presents.

Worked out perfect because they got to open their gifts and take them home!

Jump!

Bissell floor cleaner from my mom. See my fireplace in the background? That is my other Christmas present I got early.

From Curtis-a new coat! I have had the same one since I was in the 9th grade.

Yea, it fits! Like my pajama pants? Also from Curtis. They are so comfy.

One other Christmas present Lily got was a bag full of Xylitol suckers. She loves suckers but I hate her having them because of all the sugar. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that actually inhibits decay. I got a bag of over 100 for $30. Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Yes.

She also got The Night Before Christmas read by mommy and daddy.

New skis and new coat. We took pictures after church of our gifts.

Lily has graduated to the big kids table and she loves it. The only problem is I am always having to make sure there aren't dishes with nuts in them cause she will eat off of other people's plates :)

This picture is blurry but I laugh everytime I see Brad in it.

You had to be there to really enjoy this moment but Lily saw this bad standing up and must have thought it was a chair. She sat down and crushed it.

The chaos-opening present. (Can you spot the sleeping old man? Love my papa Tosh!)

Amanda made all of us T-shirt scarfs. They were so cute I insisted on a picture. I don't think they show up very good though in the pictures. Wasn't Christmas day just beautiful? I guess if we can't have snow then it's awesome when it can be nice and comfortable.

Friday Dec 23 and Saturday Dec 24

2011-12-27T16:03:00.001-07:00

The Holidays were fast and furious. We ended up having 5 Christmas parties to go to and unfortunately didn't make it to Utah this year to see the lights at temple square. Every weekend was filled with something fun and wonderful which may have been why it went so fast!

Friday night I had the Capps Christmas party but before that we gave Dean a cat. His beloved cat had been hit on the road a week or two earlier so Alicia was able to track down this pretty cat and surprise!

Yea! They are friends :) The problem with getting the cat this weekend is for the most part there were always 8 adults, 4 dogs, and 3 babies in the house. It made for close quarters. I am sure the cat is enjoying the house by himself now.

Now for Curtis' surprise. This is still Friday night. We are kind of bad at not waiting for gifts. The week before he had given me new sunglasses. So what is Curtis getting?

He was so excited! The story behind the skis is, a few weeks before Chad and Sierra were down and Chad was on the computer looking at skis. Curtis was getting sad and jealous and really wanted new ones but he had just gotten his new crappy little car with new tires. That was pretty much all he was getting for Christmas so while Curtis was in the other room I handed Chad my credit card and said order them. We had them sent to Chad's house and then Chad decided to get him new bindings for the skis.

Happy Roo--now on to the Capps Christmas Party that same night

December 23, 2011

There are so many of us that we started doing the Capps party at the Stake Center in Jerome. I missed an hour or so of it but when I got there they were just starting this volleyball game. If I remember the statisitcs right, this ball took 4 hours to blow up. They were having all sorts of fun and after about 45 minutes a hole developed in it. It was hilarious to see the big Capps boys trying to keep this ball from hitting the ground.

Getting ready for the nativity

After the Capps party it was back to the Emery house where, because we are naughty, I got to open up a gift. Alicia made this for me-it is an old window that she painted and did chalkboard paint and a magnetic board. It's pretty awesome.

Roo again with his skis :)

Now onto Christmas Eve. We always do Christmas Eve with the Emery family, Christmas mornings usually just us, and then lunch with my family.

Grandma Joan opening her new camera

This is Lily trying to hit me in the face. It turned quickly into this type of night. And the night didn't get much better. We stayed out until 12:30 am (Lily went to sleep around 9?) At 2ish am the power went out in our house. At 3:30am Lily woke up crying and wouldn't go back to sleep because the temperature had gone down to 60 degrees with still no power. After another hour of her not sleeping in our bed, I put her back in hers. That didn't work. About 45 minutes after that I brought her again into our room where I started having a mental breakdown! She wanted a bottle but I had no way of heating it up. I finally gave her a cold bottle and she feel asleep. That was around 5:30am. No kidding, 10 minutes after that the stupid power came back on. Gotta say, the worst Christmas Eve night ever. We were tired Christmas day and didn't get up till 9:30.

It is a small world after all

2011-12-16T14:33:00.001-07:00

I had an interesting thing happen to me this week at work that I want to always remember. When Lily was born and we were hit with so much so quick, I wasn't very sociable. I was angry, stressed, sad, etc. When we stayed at the Ronald McDonald house and even being at the NICU we really didn't talk to anyone. We should have because hearing other people's stories always help but we were in such a desperate time that, call it selfish, but I didn't want to hear what other people were going through. Yes, it would have helped me see the bigger picture, and it does now, but at the time I could only deal with my life.

Where am I going with this? There was one day Curtis had to go home to Twin for school and I was lonely. I felt the urgent need, like I did every morning, to get to the hospital but I still had to somewhat take care of myself. Showering, eating, pumping, and ugh, LAUNDRY! It's very frustrating to have to postpone going to see your baby just to do laundry. Anyway, as I was switching washer to dryer I met a very kind woman. I decided to actually talk to her. She told me about her twins that were 4 years old, one was healthy and normal and then she had one daughter who was always having problems, they were constantly in the hospital, etc. She gave me a lot of perspective that day. I thought about her often in the months to come when the stresses of being a mother got to me. I was one of the lucky ones. Lily came out of everything healthy. I never remembered her name but she was really the only other person I listened to in those 25 days.

On Tuesday I had a new patient. As with every patient I start with small talk, trying to establish a relationship since I will be torturing them for the next hour. I asked about her kids and she told me about her twins. She told me about the girl. A memory came to me and all of a sudden I got goosebumps. I said, probably too loud, were in the Ronald McDonald house Jan. 2010??!! Yes, it was her. I always wanted to meet her again. To say thank you for her story, for helping me that day. I couldn't believe the coincidence. Her daughter is doing much better. She is an inspiration to me. She told me she didn't remember what I looked like but did remember our conversation and thought it was funny I would remembered her kids. It is a small world.

South Hills light 2011

2011-12-11T18:21:00.002-07:00

Curtis and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary on Wednesday. To my husband: it has been wild and crazy these past 5 years getting through college, having Lily, going through the NICU with her, and learning to live together. I love you more now than I did the day we got married. Thank you for being a great husband (most of the time ;)) and for being an even better daddy. I love you Roo.

Now for some pictures of our fun weekend.

Lily helping mamma cook. She thinks the oven mitts are fun!

Lily put on dad's hat and she looked just like Dopey!!! It was too cute.

Saturday night we went to the South Hills and brought Gracie with us. I love going up there. It truly begins the Christmas season going to the Hills.

I asked Santa if he'd take a picture with just Lily and he said sure if she will let me! She has a weird look on her face but actually she was just fine with him and said, "cheeese".

She is so cute in this picture holding her candy cane without hands. I must have captured her at the right moment. She looks like a "Who".

50lbs of carrots a day! This Camel is awesome

Cutting down our Christmas tree

2011-12-02T15:21:00.001-07:00

Saturday, November 26, 2011, we got together our nephews Cole and Jess and headed to the South Hills. I thought it was the perfect day to cut a tree because the wind chilled out and there was some snow as we got higher up. We trudged through the snow and found our most perfect tree.

When we were done and getting back to the truck, there were these nice folks from Albion that gave us all hot chocolate and let the boys have hot dogs and chips. People are so kind and full of the Christmas spirit!

Nothing like a $5 Christmas tree we cut down ourselves. Let the Holidays begin!!!

Crafts and Christmas

2011-12-02T15:19:00.001-07:00

In case I haven't said it before, I LOVE PINTEREST!!!! I am not a creative person and I do not do creative things, until now. I just need a little motivation. My sister in law Alicia and I got together a few Fridays ago and made these snowmen. I should actually say Alicia and Curtis made the snowmen but he did a great job. They are so cute!

Lily's handprint ornaments. Idea of course from pinterest. They turned out really well but only after a few practices.

For Christmas we are making Lily a baby crib to go along with the baby we got her. My friend Racheal told me about a website that gives the measurements, what to buy, how to do it. (Not that Curtis couldn't figure it out on his own but made it easier). This is him working on the crib.

I have no storage space in my house so as part of my Christmas present we got shelving for the garage. I was so excited!

And my handy dandy husband also made me this shelving. I am so thankful and appreciative of the things that Curtis can do. So amazing.

Black Friday

2011-12-02T15:08:00.001-07:00

Curtis and I love Black Friday (If there is something we want of course!) We didn't do the super early shopping though. We went out at 8 am and and hit 4 stores and we were very happy with what we got.

Grace stayed the night and stayed with Lily while Curtis and I ran from one store to the next. Two cute girls in their footie pajamas!

Why all the gift cards? I wanted to get a fireplace/entertainment center from Lowe's. They didn't have any in the store so they ordered it in for me. Before I bought it however, I went to Albertson's and bought the amount of the fireplace on Lowe's gift cards because for every $100 you spent you got $20 to spend in Albertson's. I saved a lot of money :) My best Friday deal

We are done shopping! We have never been so prepared for Christmas so early. It's kinda nice.

What I am thankful for...

2011-11-24T12:20:00.001-07:00

I have a lot to be thankful for...

First and foremost, my family. Curtis and Lily are the most important people in my world. I am also extremely thankful for our health. Being blessed with Lily has changed our lives in so many ways and we are so thankful with how smart she is. Such an amazing child!

I am thankful for Curtis and I both being done with college and that we had the means to do so. Our professions have been another amazing blessing.

On that note, I am thankful for my job and for Curtis' job. We work with good people, have good hours, make decent money, and are actually happy with going every day. It does make it difficult when Lily is sick for me to go to work but even then I am glad for my job.

I am thankful for my siblings and Curtis' siblings. We are pretty lucky to have so much family so close and who are so great to us. We love every last one of you.

I am thankful for all of Lily's grandparents. She has a lot of people who love her very much.

I am thankful that there aren't any deals on black Friday that I feel like I need to get up super early for. :)

I am thankful for that fact that, because we couldn't go to Boise, because Lily has been sick, that we have another Thanksgiving dinner in Jerome we can go to. I am also thankful I get to show up and not have to do anything except help clean up!

I am thankful for a roof over my head, good running vehicles, and all the other materialistic things in my life that make things easier.

I am thankful specifically for the things Curtis does every day to make our lives better. He is a good husband and a better father. I love you a lot Curtis.

There are a million other things I could list in my life but I am off to enjoy my Thanksgiving lunch! Love you to all!

Snow!!

2011-11-18T20:51:00.001-07:00

Lily wasn't old enough last year to know snow. It is a new wonder for her. She loves to stand and look outside and say "wooooow". Last Sunday we went to my parent's house for dinner and they had their gazebo decorated with lights and a fake Christmas tree. When getting out of the car, Lily exclaimed, "Look!" Followed by "Woooow!" Experiencing the holidays through a child's eyes is truly a blessing. I know I will have more fun this year than ever before watching Lily learn all the new traditions.

Today we started new crafts and poor Curtis got roped in to helping. He had to sand the blocks of wood. I will post later what we are creating. Loving this time of year with the snow!

Crazy day

2011-11-08T21:39:00.002-07:00

Today I forgot my lunch. No problem right? I can just go eat out in Twin on my lunch hour. I get into my car and go to pull my wallet out when I unhappily discover it missing. Crap! (Or another word I used). I racked my brain for the last time I used my wallet. I called Michael's and Walmart and nothing. I text Racheal and Curtis to see if it was in either of their vehicles. I checked our bank accounts and no unusual spending. My sister agreed to go check my house and wouldn't you know it, my Klepto daughter took it and it was under our bed. This has not been the first time she has taken something. A couple of months ago Curtis' wedding ring went missing and after 2 days and dumping trash cans out (it was a stage of throwing everything away) we found it in her playroom. Oi! That is my story for the day. I was stressed all afternoon until I knew where my wallet was.

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T22:02:00.001-06:00

I love Halloween. It is one of my favorite holidays. I haven't worked on Halloween for 4 years and so this year, as an office, we decided to dress up. We chose cavemen so that we could still wear our scrubs. Here is some of my office...

End of the day group shot. It took me a very long time to comb out my hair. In this picture I had at least put it back but for most of the day it was teased pretty high, thanks to Toni. Our patients didn't know what to think of us but we had so much fun!

That night we had our annual Halloween party at my brother Sean's house. I saw this great idea for guacamole on Pinterest (I love pinterest in case you don't already know)

Lily only wanted Daddy helping her since he started out first with her. It was a cold night but it was so fun. Curtis had to work last year so he loved going out with Lily.

Emily Osen is pregnant!!! So excited for her :) Love you Em.

Note to self for next year--pick a costume without props. Poor Lily trying to carry her lamb, bag of candy, and shepherd's hook was a pain! And the entire night she insisted on carrying all of it herself. I, of course, forgot her actual trick or treat bag so she was stuck with a grocery sack.

There is a doctor who built a huge house behind the temple and he went all out for Halloween. I LOVED his house. I dream of having decorations like this someday.

It has started to become a tradition for Grace and Liz to jump in with us and go trick or treat the richer neighborhoods :) It was kinda dead this year but I had fun with my girls anyway.

FISH FACE!!

Trying to get Curtis to take a good picture...

The flash was too bright...

Trying to keep his eyes open...

Alright, I give up! But we did have a good laugh. I love you Curtis.

Pics of Lily

2011-10-31T22:15:00.004-06:00

The Capps family decided to do some family pictures. I will post those later but here is what we shot of Lily.

Rupert's Guinness World Record Straw Maze

2011-10-27T15:44:00.001-06:00

In Rupert there is a Straw Maze that has is the Guinness World Record for the biggest Straw Maze. My brother Brad had some big part in all the straw bales there so we got to go over for free. It was a lot of fun! We only lost two kids in the maze and they got out on there own, thankfully :)

The straw maze is haunted at night. I was glad we went through earlier when it was still light but it would be a great scare at night. This crib was in the middle of the maze. Whatever scary that was suppose to be in there wasn't yet so we stuck Lily in.

Love Emily's face in this picture!!

Here are the kids-I have a bunch of pics cause with 7 kids it's hard to get a good one.

Curtis decided to send Lily down herself so I was there to grab her. I almost slipped doing it. Like the butt shot?! Haha. Thanks Brad and Amanda for inviting us. We had a great time. :) We even enjoyed JB's afterwards, more so than we thought we would!

Happy Birthday Avery!

2011-10-27T14:40:00.002-06:00

Just thought I would post some more goodies I have done. I have this week off and I have bee very productive. I have now gone through every room in my house and cleaned out and reorganized everything. I'm very tired! Tonight I will be attempting to make copycat recipe of krispy creams and pizza casserole. I haven't cooked all week because family has been in town and last night we went to Rupert for the Straw Maze there. I will be posting that next.

Lily and Avery eating popcorn and apples. Lily is 10 months older than Avery and today is Avery's birthday. Happy Birthday sweet girl! We sure love you! and happy 21 months to my little monster. :)

playing with Lily

2011-10-16T12:39:00.003-06:00

Like father, Like daughter

2011-10-07T20:24:00.001-06:00

I've always wondered why people (mainly boys) put their hands just inside their pants especially when sleeping or lounging on the couch. You all know what I am talking about right? Well, Lily has this same comfort problem. I have come in a few time and she has had her hand tucked inside her diaper. I think it's hilarious.

This was about a month ago and below...

...was from today. I was getting a massage from Nicole Capps (She gives great massages if anyone wants her number) and I went to check on Lily and she has her hand tucked in her pants and her stuffed animal over her face. I don't know how she was still breathing but it was still pretty funny!

Donating blood

2011-10-06T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today, I went in and donated blood. I do this every 3 months except for when I was pregnant or the last year because I got stuck by an instrument at work. (All clear and healthy from that might I add) Why do I do this? Every time I am getting my health history done, getting poked in the finger to test iron levels, and then having the huge needle stuck in my arm, I think why do I do this?

My blood may get thrown out. Or my blood might be used every time for someone who is sick and needs a transfusion. They also use the blood for other testing. I am writing this post because I want to encourage others to donate blood. Good karma right? I have the universal blood type but there are all other types that are needed especially the most rare. Want to know the best part of donating besides the warm, fuzzy feelings? Cookies and Juice at the end!!!

Wild Weekend!!

2011-09-11T21:32:00.001-06:00

What a fantastic weekend!!! It started Thursday night after work we had book club and had so much fun hanging out together kid-free! Curtis kept Lily so I could enjoy time with the girls. Then on Friday my best friend Kara came into town for my other best friend's wedding-Miranda Turnbow.

Friday night Curtis again took care of Lily and we went shopping at the mall and then visited our friend Katie S. (Katie, I can't spell your last name unless I look it up :))

Saturday, we got up bright and early and went to the temple to see Miranda marry her fiance Kyle (Kyle is awesome by the way, we really like him). After pictures, we had a lunch in my mom's backyard before everyone headed back to Boise. They got married in the Twin Falls temple because Boise is closed for renovations.That afternoon we headed up to Boise and later that night we went to Miranda's beautiful reception. We had a great time!

Kyle and Miranda Waldron

Old roommates and Best Friends!

Their reception was at the BSU sky Center on the 6th floor. It was amazing!

We drove back from Boise today, Sunday, and went to my niece Grace's birthday party. She is 10 years old. Her birthday is actually tomorrow Sept. 12. Grace was our light in the dark time that was Sept. 11. Watching all the news and stories of the survivors has brought back all the emotions we felt 10 years ago. God bless those directly affected by the terrorists. I think of all of those who died that day and can't imagine the fear and pain they went through.

To my Grace, I love you sweet girl. You are amazing and I am excited that you are 10 years old! I can't believe how quick time has flown by and it scares me to think that in another quick 10 years you'll be 20! AH! Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday cute Grace, Happy birthday to you!

I'm still here...

2011-08-25T22:37:00.001-06:00

Well, this has been a busy summer so I am sorry I haven't been posting as much. There has been something going every week as I am sure is the same for all of you. I first wanted to start off with telling whoever is following this that I deleted my facebook account for the time being. I decided to take a break from all the things distracting me.

Not much has been going on. Lily is talking at a rapid pace and comes home every day saying words we didn't know she knew. She is at the point that she will repeat anything you tell her to. It's really fun! She loves animals and feeding my sister in laws fish. She is doing great not being in daycare and hasn't been sick for quite awhile. (Knock on wood)

For now, that's all I have to post. I hope everyone is doing well since I am not keeping up with you daily on facebook.

Catching up on blogging

2011-08-12T22:47:00.002-06:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I last blogged. I can't say I really missed it :) But I blog for those of you who read and also for me because lately, my memory is terrible. So here is from July till now. It's been a busy summer as I am sure you are all feeling. I have gone private which I also kind of enjoy because I almost feel more free to write what I want.

July 20th we had a birthday party for Curtis' dad Dean. It was a pretty good party and we like it when we actually make use of our huge backyard.

We only supplied the place for the party. My mom and Joan did all the work and it was great!

July 28th was a dental conference in Sun Valley and I have to say, it was really enjoyable. It was my first night away from Lily since hospital days and we both did quite well. I am not going to lie, it was nice to just chill out, not always worrying about her. For one night at least. Here is Toni and Marla, two of my co-workers.

Thursday we went for a 'Wheels and Wine' tour of Sun Valley. It was actually pretty cool because we road around learning all about Sun Valley. I have lived so near all my life and didn't realize how much there was to offer. Everything is expensive though.

The 'Wine' part of the tour was especially fun for Toni and Marla because two of us nondrinkers handed over the glasses of wine and they were having a good time...

There was a dinner that night with Muzzie Braun playing. The food was delicious and we had some good laughs.

Everyone I work with and Muzzie Braun. Dr. Dingman and Muzzie went to High School together so we had an 'in' for this picture.

July 30 after getting back from the conference we went caving with Curtis' sister Julie and her kids who were visiting from Oklahoma. We took Lily and it was a lot of fun.

August 5, 2011 is Lily's first appointment to the Allergist. Everyone thought I was crazy (I was hoping I was too) and said I was over reacting and that she didn't have an allergy. Ya, she has an allergy. Here is when she is so happy before the allergy test and then blood draw that we had to try from both arms. It was a rough day.

Right after they started the allergy test.

Pretty bad. I will blog more about her peanut allergy later. It has been a hard thing to come to grips with. I know things could always be worse but only 20% grow out of it so it isn't looking good.

We went camping last weekend after the allergy testing and it was fun although I got really sick so there aren't many pictures. I didn't feel good Friday night and most of Saturday but everyone else had fun and thank goodness for a trailer!

Sleeping baby

2011-07-21T20:25:00.001-06:00

I love watching my baby sleep. She is so peaceful. I love even more how she wraps her bear up and sleeps on it. :)

Harry Potter, Helicopter Flying lesson, and the Zoo

2011-07-17T21:41:00.001-06:00

We had a fun filled weekend! It is always nice to get away to Boise and hang out with family but I do have to say I am tired! We stay up way too late :)

The weekend started with the last Harry Potter movie. Sierra and I went and had tickets purchased ahead of time which was good because our theater was sold out. It was a great show!

We got there 30 min earlier and had front row middle seats to put our feet up. It was awesome!

Saturday morning Curtis was taking a flying lesson along with Alicia and Dean. They bought the lessons off of living social or some discount website. They were getting pretty excited but nervous at the same time.

The helicopter was tiny. Only 2 seats and no windows. I can't imagine flying in it let alone getting the controls for a bit.

Lily was clapping for daddy in the helicopter.

That afternoon we celebrated Dean's birthday by eating all day and swimming. That night we went downtown Boise where there were some cyclists racing.

It was crazy to watch them come around because they were so tightly packed. I just kept waiting for one to fall.

Sunday morning we went to the Zoo. I was excited for Lily to see the animals and play.

"More" is what Lily would keep saying.

It was a great weekend. Thanks to the Emery family for all the fun. I am tired and burned but we had a great time.

Good-bye Binky

2011-07-08T18:53:00.000-06:00

Well, I had the week off and since Lily is 17 months old I decided I'd take this time to break her of her binky. I took it away originally when she was 9 months old with no problems. So easy! I am the best mom ever :) Not. I gave it back because she had to have tubes in her ears and I felt bad. I should have taken it again sooner but there was always something I was waiting for. I had read a lot about taking it away and it said to do it before 18 months old or I'd really regret it. So here is what happened...

Sunday night was my first attempt. I was starting out cold turkey before trying other tricks. She doesn't have it too often through the day so I had taken it when we got home from camping and hid it. She didn't notice. But come night time she knew she was missing something. I put her to bed at 9:15pm and at about 11:08pm (yes, I was watching the clock this close) I gave in because truly, she screamed and cried that entire time. I went to bed in poor spirits that night. The next morning I cut the binky so it'd lose its suction. She kept pulling it out looking at it. I said it's broken over and over and she went and threw it away. Good girl! Come naptime Monday, I put her down and this time it took an hour. A long, crappy hour. She screamed and was sobbing to the point of hardly being able to breathe. I didn't break though. Something about it being day time helps :) After an hour I wrapped her and held her tight to calm her down and she went to sleep. Yea!

Monday night (4th of July) we were out till 11:30 and on the long drive home she screamed (20 min) until right before our road she fell asleep. Still no binkie. She woke up at 3am screaming and I gave her one of her old binkies and she went back to sleep. The next morning it was on the floor and she never even realized she had it. Naptime Tuesday went smooth. I put her in her crib, let her scream for about 15 min and she went to sleep. Tuesday night, another late night out, she fell asleep calmly once we got home.

By Thursday with no binky since Sunday night (except for 3am back to sleep Monday) I felt confident enough to put all binkies hidden from daddy and Lily and we are done. No more! It has been a rough week, I'm not going to lie. At night when she screams (at least that is decreasing), I go into my room and shut the door so I don't have to listen to her. It has been a successful week off! Especially since our A/C was broken and that was fixed too. Whohoo!

Here are some more pictures from our week together. It has been so nice to be home every day with her and do fun things throughout the week. I love my toddler!

Playing at Bass Lake

Dipping carrots in fry sauce-gross!

Forget the carrot, I'll just eat it with my fingers

Going through the carwash-she claps to feel better. Funny kid

Looking a little worried...

Capps Annual 4th of July Party (on the 5th)

2011-07-08T18:23:00.001-06:00

Most of you came to this party but for those of you who read my blog and don't know about it, every year my parents throw a huge party. They feed everyone (one year was a taco truck, a roasted pig, etc) and provide a lot of the big, fun fireworks. The weather was beautiful and we had a lot of fun.

Lily last year. 2010 I miss my cute little baby

The fireworks on the 4th were very far away and didn't bother Lily at all. Luckily, she didn't care about them the next day when they were right above our heads with a loud BOOM! She kept clapping, I think, to make herself feel better about it :)

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-08T18:00:00.001-06:00

Every year for the 4th we have a dinner and fireworks at my brother Sean's house because we can see the fireworks from his backyard. Curtis missed out on all the fun because he had to work :(

I had stopped on the way and bought some mild fireworks to do with the kids. They of course, loved it.

It was a late night for Lily but she did awesome and loved the fireworks

Poor, sad Seth. Having a broken leg in the summer is kind of hard.

First Camping trip in the trailer

2011-07-08T16:47:00.001-06:00

I had to start this post out with my nephew Seth-he was climbing on his dad's motorcycle when it fell on him. He is the same age as I was when I broke my leg on the trampoline. Poor guy

We were so excited to go camping with our new trailer. We went with Curtis' brother Brad and our Sister in law Alicia and Avery. It was a hot trip but was so much fun. I will never camp without a trailer again! :)

Brad and Curtis hiked to the top of this ridge. They realized later how stupid it was since we later found rattlesnakes near the base. 90

Lily getting ready to eat. The mosquitoes were terrible so sometimes we hid in the camper.

The fridge worked which we were very happy about. Lily's pack and play fit perfect where later we can make a bed when she is older.

Our new (1982) 5th Wheel

2011-06-26T18:42:00.001-06:00

I am a terrible camper. I hate being cold and I hate not having a bathroom. Curtis has been wanting a camper ever since marrying me because we only camp maybe 1-2 times a year because I am a wuss. The problem was, we had to find something his Nissan Frontier could pull because we weren't about to buy a full size truck just to camp in the summer. We started looking on Craigslist and first found a Burro. It was expensive, tiny, didn't have a bathroom or heat. It was pretty much an enclosed trailer. We almost bought it .Wednesday we went with the money in hand and then changed our minds. Thank goodness!

We found this 5th wheel camper that a guy was selling in Rexburg. Have you ever heard of a 5th wheel a midsize truck could pull? It almost seemed too good to be true. It is only 19' long and light enough to pull. It has 2 queen size beds (table turns into a bed) and it had a bathroom, heat, stove, and fridge that all worked. And it was cheaper than the stupid Burro! The only problem was it was in Rexburg and we weren't sure if it was going to clear Curtis' truck. On somewhat of a whim, we got up Saturday morning 6am and started towards Eastern Idaho. We got there, saw that it was in GREAT shape especially for a 1982, and it cleared his truck.

It took 3 hours for Curtis and this sweet, wonderful 80 year old man to take the 5th wheel hitch out of his truck and install it in Curtis' truck. Then it took about 4 hours to get home but it's totally worth it! We are very excited to camp now this summer and be warm :)

Shoshone Falls

2011-06-21T20:58:00.000-06:00

I'm late posting these. We went to Shoshone Falls last Tuesday (6-14-11) to meet my family for a picnic. Lily had a rough day at daycare and was tired and we waited and waited and waited. After 30 min of no one showing up when they were suppose to we decided to go home. Lily was asleep within 10 min. Ah well. We had fun while we were there.

Lily was being so cute climbing daddy and then running away.

Another day, another ear infection

2011-06-17T10:33:00.000-06:00

Here we go again. Another day and another ear infection. Since starting daycare, Lily has been sick at least every other week. It is truly amazing I don't have to call in sick to work more than I already do (which is not very often, really). She had been a little congested Wednesday and clear ears and then she woke up crying Thursday morning and her ear draining like crazy. She was with my sister, thankfully, and by the end of the day her ears had drained so much it got on her clothes. We were able to get her into the doctor last night and we start the ear drops and possibly another round of antibiotics. This will be her 6th round in her short little life.

Horse Riding

2011-06-12T21:24:00.002-06:00

Last August we had to put my horse down and I haven't felt much like riding since then. Last Sunday I decided to take Lily because she kept riding her rocking horse. We went again on Friday June 10, 2011 and she fell asleep!

This is Ranger. He is older than I am which means he is good to ride with Lily. He's so slow though.

This was tough when Lily fell asleep. The next day I woke up with a very sore shoulder. I was afraid, with her as limp as she was, something was going to spook Ranger and we'd have an incident. But he's slow!

New things...

2011-06-12T21:18:00.002-06:00

There are many new things that Lily has started to do. One of which is watching TV. She has never been interested in TV before but she will now watch about 15 minutes of Baby Einstein. She likes the sign language episodes.

She has started making this funny face. If something surprises her, the dogs barking, something loud on TV, she will look at us with this funny face.

My last post I wrote about her new chhheeeessssee smile. Here it is again.

Look at the dimples on this girl!

Last thing I want to add is she has recently had all her first molars and one lateral incisor come through. Five teeth in about two weeks. Two weeks ago she had a fever for several days with no other signs of sickness and then I discovered her teeth. She has been pretty good but drooling like crazy.

Say Cheese

2011-06-06T21:09:00.002-06:00

Does anyone ever feel like there are not enough hours in the day to teach their child everything you think they need? Two weeks ago I had the thought that I hadn't taught Lily animal sounds. She is smart and picked up on what a kitty, doggy, horsey, chicken, says within a day. We are working on more.

She is also constantly surprising me at what she learns from daycare and being around other kids at

my sister Anne's house and sister in law Amanda's house. The other day while playing I watched her grab a blanket and a baby and wrap her up. When I asked her if she had her baby she looked up, put her finger to her lips and said, "ssshhhh." Hmm-I couldn't stop laughing. And now she always goes around saying, "daddy...shhh" when he is sleeping. :)

Then on Saturday night I was trying to get her to actually smile at the camera so I could capture her first sunburn. I said, "Lily say cheese." She instantly turned around, looked at me, and said, "cheeeeesssseee" with a smile! Where the heck did she learn that from??

Just to make sure it wasn't a fluke she did it again Sunday morning right before we headed to church.

May 29 and 30, 2011

2011-05-30T17:32:00.001-06:00

Saturday we went for a walk and got a treat at Smiley Creek. We had brought our stroller and it was so great to have.

Had to get a picture with the Smiley Creek bears. Lily was afraid of them.

After our walk we went to Alturus lake to see what everything looked like. There was still snow over the road and the lake was the fullest I have ever seen it. Very cold too.

After Lily's afternoon nap we went to Stanley to eat some pizza and stopped at Red Fish on the way.

This is what we woke up to Sunday morning. We weren't planning on leaving till 11am but left around 8:30 and we were glad we did. The roads were bad until we got on Galena and then it got a little scary. We were glad we had brought the pickup. At one point coming down the mountain we started sliding towards the guard rail. I hate heights so I was practically having a panic attack. We had to go 25 MPH pretty much the entire mountain. Then it was good roads again.

And she's out! Can you see the drool? :)

My kind of camping!

2011-05-27T20:52:00.001-06:00

Ah, the perfect camping weekend. We came up to Alturus to my Grandparent's cabin and we have tv, internet, and full kitchen. This is my kind of camping! Lily is also 16 months old today. Love my sweet little toddler. Hope everyone is enjoying their memorial day weekend.

Our long drive. Lily did pretty good considering she had just woken up from a nap in time to drive for 3 hours! See all our junk food?

Yea! A weekend away, just us and no school or exams to worry about. Time to relax!

New Trees

2011-05-18T21:58:00.002-06:00

Curtis found a really great deal on some trees. We only have 3 in our 2.5 acres and it's kind of bare looking. So he added three more today! They are really pretty and will be great shade trees except the leaves won't be fun to clean up every year. This is before...

This is during. Curtis' dad Dean came over to help him and thank goodness for that. It was a job for them to plant those trees. I was glad I was inside with the baby :)

AFTER

Migraine and other good news

2011-05-18T19:14:00.001-06:00

Disclaimer to this post-I kind of whine tonight :)

For some reason the past few weeks have been tough. There have been a lot of changes, a lot of stress, and finally it feels like we can breathe. Curtis finished college officially May 13 (even though he didn't walk at graduation) and then yesterday he took his Radiologic Technology exam scoring a 92% and officially he is Radiologic Technologist. We are excited but at the same time it's hard to believe it's over. I know that through my 4 years of college I could really feel that sense of finality but for some reason with Curtis being done it just doesn't seem real. I think it's because there was so much more riding on Curtis graduating. When I finished Hygiene school it was just me at 22 years old and I could start my career. For Curtis, we are married, we have Lily, and we have bills that need to start being paid. So real life begins...

I have just been tired, grumpy and today it caught up with me. At work when I was almost done with one of my patients when I got a blind spot in my eye and started having terrible sensitivity to light. Yup, I knew a migraine was coming. I have only had about 3 in my life. I knew I could handle the pain and nausea but I needed to be able to see! Luckily it came back quick and the pounding started. By lunch time I was just tired and ready to give up but I don't have a job I can just leave. Some patients change their schedule to have their teeth cleaned so I powered through. I got a large french fry at McDonald's, 3 ibuprofen, and a Monster Energy drink. I was able to make it through the afternoon although I still didn't have a lot of energy. I'm still tired, but a little less grumpy. I have much to be thankful for and I am excited to start this new chapter in our lives. However, I will be ready for bedtime tonight for Lily and myself! Check back later-Curtis and his dad planted some trees in our backyard. It's going to look good.

Pictures from Emily's wedding

2011-05-13T22:45:00.000-06:00

I just got these pics so I am posting them because they are professional pics and I think think they look great. This was at Emily Osen's wedding in October 2010 so Lily was almost 10 months old. Emily is my sister in law Amanda's sister and my nurse when I had Lily.

Sweet baby

2011-05-11T20:26:00.000-06:00

My baby does not snuggle or kiss. It has always made us sad. She has been stiff as a board from the first time we got to hold her, 6 days after her birth. I don't know if she is just that type of child or if it's because of the way that she entered this world fighting for air. We have always kissed on her, held her tight, and loved on when she was just pushing us away. Lately though, she has started to hug. It lasts less than 5 seconds but we hold onto it. To make it even sweeter she will gently pat our backs.

Yesterday, Curtis brought Lily home from my sister-in-law's and she scrambled to get to me. I will tell you that it's the best part of my day. Since she has been mobile, when I walk through the door she finds a way to get to me. It is what makes me get home faster. Last night she ran to me, then hugged me and patted my back, and then looked right at me and puckered her cute little lips for a kiss. She has never done that before! It made my night. And she did it a couple of times. The love of a child in unlike any other in this world. It is pure. It is simple. It is amazing. I will treasure it now as I know it doesn't stick around forever. Just thought I'd share my moment. :)

Happy Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T22:58:00.000-06:00

Happy Mother's Day. Last year was my first although I had only been a mother a very short time. Now a year later I can say that I have learned a lot and deserve my title. Not that I didn't last year, I did, but now that Lily is older I can see the mistakes I have made as a mom. And there are a lot with the constant saying of 'with my next kid...'

We all make mistakes. No mother is superior over another because our children are so different. It's nice though to be able to ask for advice from other moms. For those of you I have judged, I'm sorry because until you have a child you don't know what it takes to be a mom. For those who have judged me, we all have our different trials and challenges with out children. Some kids are just so mellow and easy while others (like Lily) are spunky and stubborn. I sometimes think that there is a competition between moms that shouldn't be there. Children grow and learn at their own pace and we should never judge each other or make others feel inferior. It's hard enough as it is!!!

Happy Mother's day to the mothers, soon to be moms, and the moms of children who have passed (because you are a mother, more so because of your loss). I am so proud of the women in my life, my mother, my sisters, my sister in laws, mother in law, grandmas, and friends. I have such wonderful influences and teachers that have made me a better mother. And I have women who are my child's 2nd mother. I love you all and I am so thankful.

To my mommy: You had 6 kids in 9 years...how the heck did you do that??!!! I am glad you did as I am #6 :) You were a great mom. You taught me how to be so independent, encouraged me to go to college, helped us decide on our first home, and loved me no matter my decisions (although I think I was one of your easier kids...maybe more expensive but easier). I know you love me and I now understand the sacrifices you have always made for me and everyone else in our family. You really are my role model with the things you have accomplished have always made me want to be better. Since I didn't get to spend Mother's Day with you (she was flying back from Israel) I just want you to know I love you and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Is it really here?

2011-05-06T13:39:00.000-06:00

Could it be? After 4 years, the day is finally here? In August 2007 my husband decided to start college with a little push (shove?) from me. He had always done construction with his brother and dad but he needed to start something new. We were newlyweds and no children. Why not? He wasn't sure what he wanted to go into but he just started taking his generals. At first he thought accounting but I recommended something in health care since it had been so good for me. He settled on Radiologic Technology and away we went! There were almost 2 years worth of pre-requisites to take before he could even apply. He hammered those out, working part time at a chiropractor office and I worked full time (4 days a week) as a Dental Hygienist. We started talking about having kids but wondered if we should wait. I couldn't though, I was ready for my Lily. After 6 months of no luck we thought maybe we should wait. Then came the morning sickness. Hhhhmmm could I be? We found out one week before he was to apply to the Rad Tech program. There were many prayers said that week. It seemed vital that we got in especially now, since I was expecting.

Two weeks later we found out he got into the program. Curtis, I knew would be great working with people, learning everything about the human body, physics, biology, radiation, and everything associated with his career choice. He really has amazed me at how well he did in school. He always felt he waited too long to start college (23) but it's where he needed to be to excel as he did. We had Lily one semester into the program and Curtis was able to quit his part time job, be there in Boise with me and Lily while she was in the NICU, and drive back and forth to attend school. When we got home I had 6 weeks to enjoy and then it was back to work for me. Curtis would watch Lily unless he had class. It worked out quite well. Now 1 year later he is finally done. He handed in the last of his papers this morning. Hallelujah!

The best part is, he has a full time job at the Gooding hospital. He loves the people he works with and that the hospital is a little smaller. He gets to help with CTs and if he stays there (which he is planning) he will be able to challenge the registry for that and become CT certified.

To Curtis: I know these last 6 weeks have been hell. You have put in 18 hour days both working and doing your clinicals and I couldn't be any prouder of you. You kicked butt and went straight through college never wavering, keeping your end goal in mind even though at times it was really hard to do that. I know you have done this for me and for Lily and we are so thankful. You really are amazing at what you do and you are also a wonderful husband/father and we are so lucky to be moving on past college into real life!! That's how it feels anyway :) Now, it's time to start paying off the student loans! I love you.

Picture of Lily instead

2011-05-02T21:43:00.000-06:00

Well, I was going to post about the death of Osama bin Laden but Curtis thought people look at our blog for pictures of our baby, not my opinions. So here is a picture of my cute baby and I will let my opinions stay in my head :) Enjoy!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-25T22:21:00.001-06:00

We finally did our Easter hunt...at around 5:30pm Sunday night. I had put marshmallows and chocolate chips in the eggs but when I took her Easter pics (see below) she ate all of them. So, I just threw the eggs out in the yard and let her gather them up, at least trying to before Deegan chewed a few. Curtis asked me why I didn't hide the eggs, but when Lily was having a hard enough time trying to figure out why she was picking plastic eggs out of the grass, he understood. :)

Happy Easter 2011

2011-04-24T16:41:00.001-06:00

Happy Easter 2011!! Well, I dropped the ball and waited too long to put Easter eggs out in the yard for Lily to get before the rain started. We still had a nice Easter weekend. Below are some pics with Lily and her cousin Avery in their Easter dresses. I didn't actually buy Lily an Easter dress this year but I found this 18 month dress that someone gave her so it worked out great! I hope everyone enjoyed their families and thought about the true meaning of this Holiday. We all have so much to be thankful for.

I tried to get closeup pics of Lily with her black eye. She fell against a drawer Tuesday and it's taken a bit to heal but thankfully it doesn't hurt anymore.

Lily and Avery are exactly 9 months apart. They were pretty cute together this weekend. Avery was just mesmerized with Lily, wanting to get to her. Lily, was finally softer with Avery and even gave her some "loves" by laying her head on her and patting her. Such cute girls. I can't wait till Avery is crawling, walking. They will be good cousins!

HAPPY EASTER

Lily's first Easter 2010

2011-04-22T16:54:00.001-06:00

Lily was a little over 2 months old on her first Easter. Here are some pics for last year just because she was so dang cute. We are excited to go Easter egg hunting either Saturday and Sunday. I am putting little marshmallows and chocolate chips around the yard and letting her pick them up. Should be fun.