Sisters: Racheal & Kaylee

These two sisters are my nieces. Aren’t they sweet?

Racheal is a go-getter, intelligent, curious, and passionate.

 

 

Kaylee is easy-going, calm, smiley, and content.

 

They complement each other perfectly.

Caroline’s Comparison

I wanted a side-by-side comparison so for fun we tried to recreate (somewhat) Caroline’s newborn pictures for her 1st birthday. We used a different location since we didn’t want to drive all the way to Layton and this time she has clothes on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Oh, what a difference a year makes!

Grand Junction and Vail

There are two direct routes from SLC to Denver: I-80 to the north through Wyoming and I-70 to the south through Green River. We’ve driven I-80 before and we will never, ever do it again. The drive through Wyoming is just too, well, Wyoming. It’s barren and makes you feel sad.

However, the southern route is a beautiful drive through the Rocky Mountains with many possible fun stops along the way. I had a list of possible stopping points since we never knew when Cara would be sleeping or screaming. Unfortunately, our first stop at a beach on the Colorado River was closed due to E-Coli. Ewwww. So we drove on to Grand Junction. The kids were happy to be there because Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat stopped in Grand Junction in Curious George 2. So…yeah. They thought that was cool.

We basically strolled up and down main street, played in the fountain, looked in a toy shop, and ate pizza. Here, Nate’s waiting for the water to spurt up.

Our next stop along the way was Vail. Ooohh. Vail. Very pretty. We visited the free Betty Ford Botanical Gardens and it was one of our best layovers ever. GORGEOUS. The playground was so, so fun and in such a lovely setting that we didn’t want to leave. But after a picnic dinner, we were on to Denver.

This is Caroline’s first time in a swing.

This sideways video is Rob playing on the spinner thing. We all took turns getting very dizzy.

One thing I want to remember is that there are quite a few tunnels through the mountains on this route. Every time we hit one all of us would take a deep breath and yell the whole way through. Even little Caroline joined in. Just a fun little memory.

Another “On My Mind” Segment

• Fatigue. Kids are tiring. Keeping the house clean…or at least presentable…is extra tiring. Making dinner every night is tiring. Entertaining is tiring. All the events and activities are tiring. Going to bed at regularly at 12:30am just to get stuff done is tiring.
• When I got downstairs this morning at 7:30 Nate was watching tv which is not at all unusual. But this morning he was watching a NOVA special on the expansion of the universe. Yep, he’s our son.
• I got half the carpet in the house pro cleaned today. Now that we’re done with constant spit-up and potty training, we were definitely due. But I have to say, I can’t wait for hardwood.
• Speaking of décor, I wish I had an unlimited amount of money to decorate my house. Actually, just a couple thousand would do right now. We have nothing on the walls STILL and our family room couch is busting apart.
• Three phrases I’m getting really sick of hearing are: “I can’t!” and “I’m hungry” and “What should I do?”
• I’m ready for another vacation. I’d love to go back to Bucerias or anywhere with a warm beach and some local flavor. It’d be even better (like multiplied by 100) if said vacation didn’t include tots.
• There are just so many pictures to catch up on. I love doing it, but it’s starting to stress me out more than anything. It just takes too long. We need a better way to sort and edit.
• Did I mention I’m tired? So far today I’ve walked Nate to school, kept the girls busy while the carpets were cleaned, made pumpkin cream cheese for bagels, and gotten ready for the day. I would lay down now for a minute but Madeleine keeps asking me to play with her. So that’s what I’ll do. Then we’re off to pick up Nate, go to the bank and the library, wash the car and gas up. Then home to hopefully relax for a few minutes before cleaning again and making dinner. Then Rob’s off to the temple (we’ve pretty much given up on ever being able to go together so we’ve started taking turns). I’ll put the kids to bed and then balance the checkbook and pay bills until our account reads $0.00. Clean up some more, read scriptures, and then finally a restless night’s sleep before starting all over tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day. And the next day.
• You can’t tell from the above but I’m trying to stay positive and grateful. We have a few friends and family members who are really struggling right now with major health issues. They have been in our thoughts and prayers a lot. I am thankful for all the Lord has blessed me with, even though I don’t deserve most of it.

Halloween Day

We had a great Halloween this year in our new neighborhood. It was very kid-friendly and our kids are finally at the age where they totally get the idea of trick-or-treating. We had so much fun!

Nate decided to be Optimus Prime. He had fun at his first Halloween parade and party at school.

 

Madeleine wanted to be Rapunzel. The wigs in the store were pricey and just weren’t long enough for her liking. I decided to make one out of 2 bolts of yarn and a little ribbon. I had a heck of a time cutting and braiding. It took a couple of hours and a lot of patience unknotting the big ball of strands after Madeleine got a hold of it. Was it worth it? Well, maybe not to me. But to her? For sure.

 

 

Caroline was Alice in Wonderland…minus the black headband she refused to leave on. She’s adorable!

 

They each got a big stash of candy that Rob and I are not-so-slowly devouring. Yikes! We’re worse than the kids!

We hope you all had as good of a Halloween as we did.

Boulder, Baby!

 

While in Colorado we drove north and visited Boulder for a day. It’s a pretty cool town. We were there for their fall festival and it was fun to be celebrating with the other tourists ;)

We walked all the way up and down Pearl Street watching street performers, ducking into cute shops, tasting local flavor, enjoying a parade, listening to music, and learning how to skateboard.  Nate especially liked watching the magician who got himself stuck in a toilet lid. Pretty funny stuff for a 5 yr old boy!

 

 

On a boulder in Boulder. 
 

The Russells

We did some family portraits of Breanna’s family way back in July. Here they are finally being blogged!

Cute family.

 

Cute couple.

 

Cute big brother.

 

Cute little brother. I took extra pictures of him ‘cause he’s new!

 

 

Family, here is a link to the gallery. We love you guys!

Lab Results

Sigh. Once again one of my kids had to have blood work done. This time it was little Caroline. She had her 12 month checkup last week and is far below what she should be in weight. The doc wanted her to get some testing done so we obliged even though I wasn’t worried whatsoever. Anyone who meets her knows she is a happy, healthy little girl who just has her mom’s petite-ness.

Her first poke was horrible. After fiddling with the needle in her arm for at least a few minutes until she bled out, the second arm was tried and the needed blood was obtained. Poor thing.

I heard back from the dr and the results weren’t as reassuring as I thought they would be. The results were:

Protein: borderline low
Vitamin D: too low
Liver enzymes: slightly high
Alkaline phosphatase: normal level = 50-130. 200 is high. Caroline’s is at 403.

Explanation: Caroline is so undernourished that her bones are breaking down.

Caroline loves her formula, warm, in a bottle. She hasn’t been keen on the idea of switching to whole milk. I’ve even tried it with Carnation Instant Breakfast. She’s not interested. She does eat a variety of food, but mostly about 6 bites and then she is done. No more. Unless it’s cookies.

My plan of attack is simple. Hide as many nutrients in cookies as humanly possible. Sure, not an intelligent solution that has staying power through the years, but for now I’m just trying to get her little body to grow. I’ll worry about the other stuff later. 

The doc also prescribed her a vitamin with iron and vitamin d at 1 1/2 times the normal dose. She’ll get checked again in three months.

All this seemed to fly out of the doctor’s mouth. Seriously. I was barely following along. At the end of the conversation she asked me if I had any questions. I had barely been able to process anything at that point. So since hanging up, internet-ing,  and thinking about this all night I pretty much just have one question.

Is she SURE it’s malnutrition? I can handle that. But I don’t want to be treating her for it and three months later find out that we’ve been treating the wrong diagnosis. There are quite a few diseases that can cause the number in her alkaline phosphatase to be so high. Diseases that are much worse. Diseases that aren’t cured with cookies.

But for tonight, I’m done worrying. We’ll pick back up tomorrow with a reassuring call to the doctor and a run to the grocery store.

No More Baby

My baby had her 1st birthday.

 

The night before, she just happened to wake up at night and needed some rocking. There I was, in the dark, rocking my baby. Then came the slight breakdown. Mine, not hers. I love her cheeks and her nose. I love her toothy smile and her chuckle. I love her all over from the top of her messy hair (since she pulls out any barrette I try to place in it) to the bottom of her arched feet (the only one of my kids with them).

She loves playing with her brother and sister. She thinks she should be able to do everything they can.

She loves her blankie. It’s the one we wrapped her in at the hospital. She sleeps on top of it and and carries it around wherever she goes, if I let her. She hates when it drags on the floor. She wants it all up in her arms.

 

Caroline is normal in height but drops off the chart in weight. She doesn’t like whole milk. For now we are mixing half formula and half milk and making sure it’s warm so she’ll drink it.

 

She had a birthday party where she had many loving family members attend. She loved all her gifts

including the wagon her dad and I bought her.

 

Here is her red velvet cake.

 

 

 

Happy birthday, Caroline. Your family sure loves you!