Christmas 2011

Well it's obvious that I have neglected this blog for the past month. Just haven't really found the time to sit down and write.... ok thats a lie. I have had time. I've chosen to to play with my new Kindle Fire though! Thanks Babe! Now that I have finished the Hunger Games Trilogy I have some catching up to do! Starting with Christmas of course!

Christmas is more of an event that lasts a few days around here. Between mine and Dewey's families we have a lot of people to visit. It's quite the festivity I assure you! On Christmas Eve we had lunch with Dewey's grandparents, Jack and Joanne and that evening we went to his parents. Christmas morning we had our own little family Christmas. Khloe is getting so fun! She actually opened presents this year and rather than completely playing with the paper she actually realized there were toys!

First present on Christmas morning!

Awed by her stocking!



Momma and her girl



Daddy and his girl



Christmas Day we had brunch at Collen and Casey's and got to spend some time enjoying their company.



Grandma CoCo, Aunt Aly and Khloe Boo



Christmas Night we went to my dads house. This was the first year we didn't spend the holiday at my Grandpa John's house. It was hard to think about. We have been there every year since I was a little girl. But Grandpa is getting old and has a hard time with all of the people in his house. We made the best of it and had a ham dinner at my Dad's. It was great!

She's my perfect Christmas Present!

Add a bow and place her under the Christmas Tree for me!



Spoiled ROTTEN!



Our little family.



The day after Christmas Dewey's other grandparents (Randy and LaRaine) stopped by to visit and we ended up at lunch with a good portion of his family. Like I said it's a festivity! A festivity that through all it's craziness I would not change.



Thanksgiving Day 2011

There are so many things I am thankful for this year. I have a wonderful husband and an amazing little girl who surprises me everyday with something new she has learned. We have our health. I have the best family and friends that a girl could ask for. I have a job that I can honestly say I love. I am lucky beyond words.

Thanksgiving Day was absolutely fabulous this year! We woke up and took our leisurely time to get ready. Attempted getting Khloe to nap. Completely unsuccessful...the usual these days. And were out the door by 1:30 PM. We spent our holiday at Grandma LaRaine and Grandpa Randy's house. The food was amazing and the fact we only went to one house this year really helped with getting to visit and take our time. Once it started to get dark outside Grandpa's Christmas lights lit up and we walked around the yard to take a look. Khloe LOVED the lit up Santa and the Reindeer, or puppy's as she called them. Once back inside a few of us (me) decided it was time for some dessert. I made some delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake cupcakes, from scratch might I add. Hubby doesn't care for pumpkin to much so the leftovers are all mine. I can accept that. Especially since they aren't to bad on the calorie front.

I can't believe I don't have any pictures to share. I took my camera, but completely forgot about it and left it in the car. I could kick myself. So bummed!

18 Month Well Child Check

Well, I was hoping for some weight gain this time round. Looks like that wasn't in the air for my little one. Here are her 18 month stats:

Length: 31.25 in - 45%
Weight: 18 lbs 12 oz - Below the 3%
Head Circ: 44.6 cm - 10%

I'm not going to lie. I'm starting to get discouraged. It seems like Khloe eats and eats and eats but never gains. Actually she's lost weight since her 15 month check up. Her ped is starting to get a bit worried as well. Granted she did just get over a UTI and the meds they had her on gave her diarrhea.

So here is the plan:

~ Carnation instant breakfast with her milk twice a day. The hope is this will help build the calories and help her gain some.
~ Weight check in January. If she hasn't gained what she needs to by then it's time to schedule another appt with the ped. He will write up orders so we can get her kidney's checked at Riverton Hospital. They'll be looking for swelling which could indicate Kidney Reflux. Meaning that her urine doesn't completely drain and actually comes back up into her ureters (If I am remembering correctly). Depending on those results we may have to go in for a bit more invasive procedure. I'm not really sure what happens if that all comes back positive.

So over the next few months I am going to be trying my hardest to fatten this kid up! Good vibes sent our way would be appreciated!

Serving Up The Coffee Grounds

While I'm im the kitchen cooking dinner Khloe likes to lock herself in the pantry. I figure no harm, she's entertaining herself long enough for me to get dinner on the table. Then I look down and there are these little black specks ALL over the floor.

When I check to see what little miss has gotten into I find this:

            

She's only this little once, I figured I better grab her silliness on camera.

Rough Night - Toddlers Get UTI's?

Apparently it's not common, but it's not all to uncommon either. Who knew? I guess that is my own ignorance shining through.

Last night was rough. One of those nights that really test you as a person and mother. I put Khloe down as usual, however, she was awake and screaming by 11:00PM. I went in and held her and once she had calmed down I tried putting her back down. Nope, not happening. Well, she has been coughing and has had a stuffy nose for the past week. I figured that was bugging her so I grabbed the Tylenol and rocked her until she fell asleep. When I tried laying her down again, she woke right up and grabbed my neck and started screaming Mommy, Mommy, Mommy. Okay, well it's 11:30PM now, so I decide to take her in my room to see if she will fall asleep with me. Nope. Finally at 12:00AM I take her and lay her in her crib. She is crying, but soothes herself enough to fall asleep within a few minutes. Throughout the night she would wake but put herself back to sleep without my assistance.

4:45AM comes around. Khloe wakes back up screaming. More Tylenol. But she refuses to sleep anymore. I'm crying by this point. I hate to admit it. I do NOT do well on little to no sleep. Like I said above, a very real test! However, this time is different. She is grabbing herself saying owie owie owie and crying. Talk about heartbreaking!

THANKFULLY, after a call to the ER, I was told there is an InstaCare in Orem that is open on Sundays. Hallelujah! I was there before they even turned the Closed sign to Open. Two hours later and one bizarre contraption to catch urine in a toddler, we get the confirmation that momma's instinct of UTI was dead on.

Khloe started showing great improvement shortly after her first dose of the prescribed meds. She took a 3 hour nap (the longest stretch of sleep she has had since Friday) and I have not seen her grabbing at herself in apparent pain. Now the real test, a good night's sleep. We both need it after last night and today.

Part Time Single Momma

.... Or at least that is how it feels sometimes. The hubby's work schedule sucks, to say it nicely. It's all over the place and moves from days to nights all to often. I absolutely despise it.

We've talked about it alot lately. Before we had Khloe it wasn't as hard. It was never ideal, but it was definitely easier. Now that we have started our little family it is right there in the forefront. Kind of like the elephant in the room. We both hate him being away at nights and a few weekends every month. But he is a good man and is doing this for us. He sacrifies his time with us to give us everything, and more, than we could ever want and need.

Although I know this isn't true. And perhaps it's a bit selfish of me. When he is away I get a small taste of what it is like to be a single momma to a toddler. It's HARD. It holds more challenges than I thought possible. It definitely opens my eyes and gives me a whole new respect for those true life single ladies out there that are raising kids on their own. You ladies deserve an award. And multiple glasses of wine.

I cry and moan and throw momma tantrums all the time on this subject. I feel abandomed sometimes. BUT at the end of the day I love my husband. He is a good man who LOVES ME and our DAUGHTER. We are lucky and I know that in order to get where we REALLY want to be, sacrifices must be made. This is not forever.

Pumpkins & Trick - Or - Treating

This year Khloe really started participating in the Halloween activities. It’s crazy to think that last year at this time she was only 5 months old. Time sure does fly!

A few weeks ago we headed to Grandma Co’s and PaPa Casey’s house for some pumkin carvin, cider drinking, chili eatin fun.

It was awesome to have my little helper clean out the pumpkin guts.

Momma and Khloe’s finished product. Notice the adorable Halloween shirt that Khloe is wearing?  Thank you again Grandma Co!

This year we actually got to take her trick or treating! It was fun. She was starting to get the whole idea of taking candy from someone’s bowl and placing it in her pumpkin bucket (Not sure if this is good or not J). But still, Super Cute! It was hilarious to watch her try to walk down the sidewalk carrying that thing barely 2 inches from the ground. And man oh man, if you tried taking this so called bucket of chocolately heaven from her, you better be prepared for high pitched, break your ear drums, screaming and kicking.

Giving this was her first year out we didn’t do to much of the door to door walking. Dewey brought her up to my work (where she received most of her loot).

Then we headed over to Grandma LaRaine’s and Grandpa Randy’s house for a quick visit.

And finally, off to Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Dean’s house. Khloe got to trick or treat around the cul-de-sac with her cousins Shayli and Mikayla.

It was such a fun day! I can't wait until next year when she REALLY starts having fun with Halloween!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Ok.... maybe one word.... PERFECT!!

Saturday Date Night

This past Saturday me and the hubs got the very rare opportunity to do a Date Night! Only me and him. Wahoo! Boo Bear got to have a sleepover at her Grandma LaRaine and Grandpa Randy's house. She always has a blast over there and gets so sad when it's time to come home. It makes me so happy to know that she gets to have a great relationship with them.

Once it was just us two we went to 7-Elevent and got slurpee’s. Then went to Sears to check on prices for a few appliance upgrades we are wanting to make with our upcoming tax returns J. We can’t seem to go into any store without checking out the kids clothes and of course, ended up leaving with a few extra shirts for Khloe. Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled lil girl! After some of our shenanigans we headed to grab dinner at Texas Roadhouse. If you haven’t been there I HIGHLY recommend it. Great food and even better service. Although, I would suggest calling ahead of time to reserve your place in line. It’s quite the hot spot in regards to date nights on the weekends and our waitress told us this time of year can get up to a few hours wait time! That's insane! After, we headed over to the Strangling Brother’s Haunted Circus. It’s crazy! I was really surprised how it was put together. They’ve made it look like a traveling circus. The “haunted house” is actually a bunch of semi trailers put together. Each one has a different theme. The owners really did a great job and were super nice! We got to talk to one of them when we first drove up. And for a great ending to the night, we headed home, made a bed on the floor, turned on the fireplace and watched a movie.

It was SO nice to have time for just the two of us. It’s so hard to make sure we have that time as a couple. We really need to work on that a bit more. We are not just parent’s (to an amazing girl might I add). 

Thanks for the Date Night Babe! It was very much needed!

The Little Things To Remember

Khloe is growing WAY to fast. It really seems like she just came into our little family and now she is going on 17 months. Her independence is growing by the day. Her personality shines through more and more. And I absolutely can not picture my life without her. She is my everything. Here are a few things I do not want to forget about her at this age.

• She LOVES her babies. Or Babe-E (imangine the E being a bit higher pitched) as she says it. She has one that is basically the size of her and she walks around and pats on the back. So cute!
• If there is a book in sight you can bet she will be handing it to you to ready to her.
• You can ask her to point to her eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, ears, head, elbow, bellybutton (Buh-lelelelele -  moving her tongue side to side), and toes. And she will randomly come up and point to these things on you.
• If she see's daddy's Honda CRF50 in the garage she will run to it and pat on the seat, expecting a ride around the block.
• She is the sweetest little girl. She can be playing and stop everything to come over and give you a hug or kiss. Yesterday, I was having a horrible day and she sat next to me while I sat was logged on to my work laptop to finish up a few things. All of a sudden she starting kissing my arm. She would kiss and stop and watch TV. Then kiss and watch TV. Over and over for probably 5 minutes. Love me some Khloe kisses!
• She is a bathtub girl. While the water is draining she HAS to lay on her belly and kick her feet. When, and only when, the water is gone will she let you get her out.
• List of words she can say: Mommy, Mama, Daddy, Dada, Two, Fish, Uh-Oh, Ticka-Ticka (Tickle Tickle), Hi, Bye-Bye, All Duh (All Done), Moh (More), Emo (Elmo), Babe-E (Baby), BeBe (Blankie), Ba (Ball), Buh (Buzz, her babysitters dog), oockie (Cookie), Eyes, No (Nose), Elbow, Ears, Ead (Head), Cheeks, No, Es (Yes), Ouch, Dis (This), That. I am sure there are more, but I am blanking.
• She loves our cat, Lily. Her favorite game is to run up to kitty, who is usually sitting on the table, and letting Lily smack her hands. Yes, the cat is de-clawed so my boo does not get hurt.
• If you call her over to you she will typically take off running. She will sit down and cover her eyes. Hahaha

We are so proud of our little girl and love her so much. We cant wait to watch her grow up to a young lady... well maybe we can wait for a little while. Lets take in each day and live in the moment! Much love sweet baby!

Nap Time = Sanity Time for Momma

You guessed it! Khloe's taking her daily nap. She's been sleeping for 2 and half hours! This is the time I am able to sit my booty on the couch and chill. I don't have to worry about cleaning or even about grabbing the next thing the little boogs is trying to shove up her nose.... seriously, what is it with kids and shoving everything and anything up there?! I've had to hold her down and grab tweezers in order to pull things out of there. Mark my words, I see us in the ER one of these days cause I can't get that next thing out that she's shoved so far up there that professionals will need to intervene.

The house is quite, except for the mindless TV show that is on in the background. I can't do the dishes , or clean my bathroom or vacuum as I don't want to wake the babes. (Like I really need to blame her nap for those things!).

But seriously, isn't 2 and a half hours a bit excessive? I'm ready to stop being a couch potato and ready to turn the music up and run around with my Khloe! WAKE UP BABY GIRL! WAKE UP! MOMMA IS READY TO PLAY!

... I'm giving her 15 more minutes and I'm waking her up.

A Year At A Glance

I can't believe how big my baby girl is getting! She is growing and learning so fast, it's absolutely amazing to see. I am so lucky she is mine.

My step mom got me this HUGE bear and wanted me to take a picture of Khloe next to it in order to document how quickly she grows from month to month. This was such a fantastic idea! And I am so happy to have these pictures. I look back through them often. It's so surreal.

1 Month

 2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

12 Months



Ready Or Not. Here She Comes!

May 20, 2010....

I was absolutely sure Khloe was going to have to be forced out of her warm and snug home in my tummy. So sure considering we were only 1 day away from her due date. I was at my weekly doctors appointment and finally got my OB to set up my induction date. There it was. Ready or not, she WAS going to be forced out of my body on that very next Tuesday.What a surreal feeling!

I proceeded to my scheduled day of work. Assured everybody that she would make her enterance next week and their last day with me as a big fat pregnant lady would be that next day. I was going to start my maturnity leave a bit early. Try to get a few things done around the house and relax before the sleepless nights began.

Dewey was on a softball team with the fam this year and they had a game that evening. After I got off work I ran by Wendy's to pick up a Spicey Chicken sandwich with Chili Seasoning packets....if you haven't tried these yet, you are most definitely missing out! And then met up with Lindsey (cousin) and the hubs. As we were sitting there watching the game I remember getting uncomfortable. My back was aching. I stood. After a few minutes the aching would subside and I would sit down. A few minutes after sitting the aching would start back up. This proceeded through the entire game, but didn't set off on alarms for me. Hell, I'm 9 month's pregnant. Uncomfortable was my middle name at this point.

After the game we made our way home to relax on the couch (and of course, catch up on Gray's Anatomy and Private Practice....I may or may not have a problem....) I started feeling this slight tightening and cramping in my stomach. Hmmm.... maybe I should think about buying an app to time contractions. But of course, I'm thinking this is only Braxton Hicks. No way was this the real thing, was it? I bought the app and started timing. Hmmmm, interetesting, these are pretty regular. They started off about 6 minutes apart and were lasting about 30 seconds. Thiry minutes goes by. Contractions are 3-5 minutes apart and lasting about 1 minute, and growing in intensity. The hibs decides to call the on call doctor to verify when we should head over to the hospital. The doctor thinks I should lay down and drink some water. If the contractions stop it's probably not time. However, if in two hours they are still regular we should head on in.

The hubs decides that while I lay on the couch and try to relax he may as well head out to the hot tub for a bit. EXCUSE ME?! But that is exactly what he did. Although, it most definitely did not last that long. Maybe 5-10 minutes after he got in he checked on me through the window and I was BAWLING bravely bending over in pain. That's it, the doctor on call is up in the freaking night. We are outta here! And off to the hospital we went.
I was admitted to Labor and Delivery around 10:00 PM. And within 30 minutes there was a quick check on my progress, I was given that very welcomed epidural and my water was broke. After things quited down we tried to get some rest while my body finished progressing to were it needed to be. The nurses checked my every few and by 6:30 we were ready to begin pushing! After the longest 2 hours of my life, beatiful Khloe was welcomed into this world:



Welcome Khloe! Born at 8:42AM
6 LBS and 17" Long



Beautiful Baby Girl!

First Family Photo :0)

Baby On Board

Time Frame - First week or so of September 2009

I know what you are thinking! And before you pee your pants with excitement - No, I am not pregnant. If you recall in my Introduction Post I mentioned I had a few catch-up posts I wanted to get out before I lost to much of the detail. Sorry to disappoint!

So, the hubby was working the night shift and some great friends invited me over for dinner. I figured, why not? Otherwise I may just end up sitting on my tush watching shows on my DVR. I get over to their place and while in the kitchen talking to Kristen I mentioned that I may be knocked up, considering that well overdue time of the month. She walks over to her medicine cabinet and pulls out a pregnancy test, of course.

A few minutes later I come out of the bathroom, holding the said test, not sure of the results. The line was SO light, it was barely visible. Just my luck! I hand the test over to Kristen, about to pass out with the not so sure news that I was seeing, for confirmation. She got the biggest grin on her face and said regardless of how light that line is, I WAS INDEED PREGNANT! I was in complete shock. I don't think I could even cry due to all of the thoughts running through my mind. I was so excited yet so terrified. Was I ready for this?!

After the initial shock had, partly, worn off Kristen, Rob and I sat down to play some card game (For the life of me, I can't ever remember what it is called). After playing through a few times and dropping the cards to the floor for the millionth time (I was shaking uncontrollably) it was decided that we should head to the store to pick up some baby stuff that I could sneakily arrange in the bathroom to surprise hubby first thing in the morning when he got home.

And for your viewing pleasure:

 

* Sorry the picture are so dark. They were taken with my phone.

Introduction

If you reviewed the About Me on the sidebar you already know I am a mother to an amazing little girl named Khloe and the wife to a wonderful man named Dewey. We were married in June 2009 and welcomed Khloe just 11 months later. We are working our butts off to provide the little one with the best life possible. I can not express the way she has changed our lives, for the better. She challenges me daily and has helped me grow as a friend, wife and mother. I'm not perfect, by any means, but hope to continue growing into a better person.

I decided to start this blog as a way to capture those moments I hope to never forget. As a journal to document our daily life. I regret not starting this earlier in order to documents those moments of wedding planning, wedded bliss, 9 months of pregnancy where my emotions were running rampant, and those amazing months of looking forward to the next milestone that baby girl met, while trying to hold back the tears of realizing she is growing WAY to fast.

I do plan on writing a few enteries of the past while they are still in my memory, with at least some of the detail :0)

So, there you go. A few words to help describe my goals with this blog.