FOOTBALL WEEKEND

We spent the weekend watching a lot of FOOTBALL! Which is surprising since HOCKEY has started too...which we are very excited about. (I'm counting down the days to my first NHL game which I can't wait for!) It's fun to branch out and watch other sports too and I must admit it is fun to sit on the bench on a cool fall evening and cheer on some football players.

Friday night Gabby was dancing during half time of the Freemont vs. Layton High School football game so the kids and I went and watched. Poor Layton got their bums kicked, but it sure was fun.
Gabby did a good job dancing and my kids loved watching the game and the dancing.

Then Saturday was Weber State's Homecoming game.

Cannon was ready to go to the game.

They had a free carnival before the game and my kids LOVED walking around campus. They are so dang cute. Here's my little cheerleader.

It was a great game and we had a really fun time.

(Even more pictures on facebook)

Weber won 20-9 and there were even fireworks after the game. My kids keep asking if we are going to go again. I'm sure we will since tickets are so cheap and we have such a great time. I am glad they are so much fun to do things with and am also glad we get to make these kinds of memories together. It makes going to school much more fun and motivates me so much more to keep going and help my kids see how important (and fun) it is.

An Incredibly Super Happy Fun Weekend

After Park City we hurried to my parents house to celebrate Kylee's birthday with my family. I made homemade sweet and sour chicken per Kylee's request and it was a great meal. My family spoiled her with gifts. I'm so glad she has so many wonderful people who love her.

This is the cake she picked out. She hasn't really seen Princess and the Frog but once but I think she just really liked the colors. It was a yummy cake and the icing was whipped instead of butter cream which I LOVE.
What a goof ball.

She got some really cute dress up clothes and one outfit was a fairy. Aunt Em was Tinkerbell a few years ago for Halloween and still had her costume so like always she made Kylee's day and had so much fun with her.

Such cute little fairies!!!

Being silly together.

Something else fun that happened over the weekend was Don asked Amberlee to marry him and she said YES! (of course) He is such an awesome guy and he has really found an awesome girl. They are so cute together and we are so excited for them.

He bought her ring back in July when they went to Oregon together. It is extremely unique and beautiful. CONGRATS YOU TWO!!!

Then we finished the night with our video conference with Tonya and Daniel.

Isn't technology awesome!

It was a fun weekend and Kylee had a great birthday.

Kylee Amanda, you are seriously the best daughter a mom could ask for. I can't believe you are 4 already and am so proud of the little woman you are becoming. You bring so much love and joy into my life and I am so glad you are mine.

Park City Party

We took just a quick and simple get-away for Kylee's birthday. It was only fair, since we went to St. George for Cannon's birthday, that we do something fun like that for Kylee's birthday too. I figure since the kids are still young enough to not care about having a party with friends why not celebrate big as a family while they still want to. Kylee got to pick the whole day. She is such a fun little girl and we had such a great time.

For lunch she picked Panda Express.

(She is her mom's girl!)

She loves to try to use chopsticks.

She thinks it is so fun.

After lunch we went to the Park City Ski Resort and rode the Alpine Slide

5 TIMES!!!

It was SO MUCH FUN!
All the leaves are starting to change and it was just GORGEOUS!

Both kids absolutely loved it and it will definitely be something we do again.

After the slide we went and checked in to a hotel for the night.

Cannon hadn't had a nap yet. Can you tell?
We swam and swam and swam.

And then Kylee picked McDonald's for dinner.

The next day we woke up and did some shopping at the outlet mall and then went up to the Olympic Park. I have never been there before and I am sad that I waited so long to go. What a neat place.

They had ski jumpers there practising and it was SO fun and amazing to watch. Both Kylee and Cannon thought it was so neat to watch them ski down the ramps, go off the jumps, and land neatly in the pool.

It was so awesome.

They have hydraulic pumps in the water that make it bubble so much that it almost makes it hard like land for them to land on. They hardly sink in the water at all. It is really neat. We watched these guys for over an hour and my kids wanted to stay and watch more.

It was a very fun, relaxing, and beautiful weekend. Even though we weren't that far away from home, it was a nice get-a-way and so fun to just be together as a family.

On the way home Kylee said:

"I love Park City Mom. Thanks for taking me."

Isn't she the sweetest!

Happy Birthday Kylee

Happy Birthday to the sweetest little girl I've ever met.

Memories

My baby girl will be 4 on Sunday!!! I can't believe how fast time is flying. 4 years ago I was having a baby shower with some of my most favorite co-workers and still some of my greatest friends (although none of us have worked together for over 6 years now) and thinking I still had a whole month before I would get to meet my little girl. Look how huge I was! Although not as "big" as I got with Cannon, I gained so much more actual weight with Kylee. It was all water weight. I was so swollen and miserable (thanks to pre-eclampsia). I was so grateful to be pregnant though and would do it all again in a heartbeat of course.

I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. Since I didn't blog at that time I thought I should probably capture my memories somewhere before I no longer remember them so clearly. I had gone to the doctor for my weekly appointment and she was extremely concerned about my blood pressure. I was already on partial bed-rest but she told me I needed to go on full bed rest and to be more careful than I already was. She gave me 3 warning signs of stroke to watch for. She said if I experienced any of them, to go to the ER right away and that taking it easy and keeping my BP down was my only concern. Curtis and I stopped at the store after the appointment and got Season 1 of Grey's Anatomy so I would have something to do to keep me busy and help pass the time.

I remember just feeling really off. Really weird and uneasy. It was late at night and Curtis had gone to sleep but I just could not sleep. In fact, I really felt like I shouldn't sleep. It was weird. I started watching some episodes of Grey's and around 2 in the morning I just felt even worse, so I woke Curtis up and asked him to give me a blessing. I figured I was just a little freaked out from what the doctor had said and was psyching myself out or something (it didn't help that I was watching a medical drama either I'm sure). Curtis gave me a great blessing and he held me and tried to help me fall asleep. A few second later he was out again and although I did feel more "at peace" I still felt like something was really wrong. Even more than before now. Around 3:30, I got a horrid headache, immediately started throwing up, and had extremely blurred vision. ALL 3 of the things my doctor warned me about. So into the ER we went. I didn't think to take a bag or anything, since I still had 4 weeks to go and all.

When we got to the hospital at 4:00 in the morning and the ER nurse took my BP she sent me right up to Labor and Delivery. When the L&D nurse took my BP she got me checked right in. I figured they were going to administer some IV drugs to help with my BP and monitor my baby but still didn't even think about maybe delivering her. The nurse started my IV and hooked up a bag. I thought it was probably just IV fluid but then I see the writing on the front says pitocin. What the? Um...you're starting my labor? What? Why? Don't I get a say in this? Her response was "sure...here's your choice...you die or you get this baby out of you right now. We are going to start your labor and if you progress quickly enough and don't stroke out on us, everything should be fine. If your BP goes any higher, we'll probably do an emergency c-section to get her out." So there you go...we were having a baby.

Around 8:00 my doctor came in and broke my water. I pretty much slept through all of my labor pains (thanks to my epidural). I was exhausted since I hadn't slept at all. Around 1:00 PM I woke up to a nurse checking me and letting me know I was ready to push. I geared up and pushed a couple times and at 1:21 PM my Kylee was officially born. She was SO little. 5lbs 13 oz but SO long 21 1/2 inches. She was literally skin and bones. My BP spiked when I delivered her and I started to shake uncontrollably. They brought her to me and I was shaking so bad I didn't even dare hold her. My vision was so blurry I couldn't even really see her either. I just kissed her forehead and they took her off to the NICU since she was so early.

Sadly, my BP still didn't want to come down and they kept me in Labor & Delivery for observation. I was too unstable to move or go see Kylee in the NICU and that broke my heart. Curtis would bring me pictures of her and friends and family were starting to come by to see her and I hated that I didn't have a baby to show off. Curtis would take them each one at a time to go see her but it was so hard for me. Luckily, my Kylee girl has been one tough fighting little chick from the start and after 8 hours of observation just because she was so early, they brought her into me around 10:00 that night. She was fine with no complications at all. I held her and couldn't believe I had a baby girl. She was so little and so beautiful.

I spent a whole week in the hospital recovering...trying to get my BP under control. I had a very mild stroke and at one time had such low BP that I "crashed" and freaked the cleaning lady out. It was a hard thing and I will never be the same and THANK HEAVENS! I am thankful everyday for it. Kylee is seriously one of the best things that has ever happened to me.

Somethings about that day I'll never forget:

• Curtis! He was awesome and so wonderful and such a proud dad. It was a tramatic thing to watch and at one point he thought he was going to lose me and I will forever cherish the love he gave me that day. He has been a great dad from day one. Wow! I had forgot how great he really was that day until just now.
• Emilee and My parents being there. It may sound weird to some of you, but I loved having my family with me during delivery. Emilee got Kylee's footprint on her hand and i think that they bonded from that moment.
• Laughing so hard I peed, which is not that hard to do right after having a baby. I was walking to the bathroom and Curtis made me laugh and it was all over.
• The flowers from my work. I have never got such pretty flowers in my life. They were the most amazing I've ever seen.
• Travis and Ranae visiting right after I "crashed." MY niece and nephew were freaked out to see all the nurses around me and being told they pretty much just revived me didn't help calm their fears.
• The love I felt. The best feeling in the world!!!

Never Forget

“There are people walking the streets of life, searching for tall buildings – for towers to bring down, because they are not able to be tall like them.” - Ali Salem (Eqyptian playwright)

Chicken Pox!

Sunday morning Cannon came down the stairs scratching his back saying "I itchy mama!" I thought he just had an itch he couldn't reach so I told him to come over and I would help him scratch it. I gave him a little scratch on the back and he said "I still itchy. I want my jamma's off." When I unzipped his pj's, it was not a pretty site. There were about 20 little pox on his back and belly.

I called the doctor and she wanted us to come in. Of course it was my Sunday to teach nursery. :( Thanks sister Harding for helping me out! After a quick trip to Wee Care to confirm it was indeed Chicken Pox, we got the meds and lotions we need to help make this as comfortable as possible.

This kid is such a sweet heart. I actually am loving the extra snuggles and hugs and how extra sweet he is. He hardly complains but will say "I itchy" a lot or ask me to but more "ocean" (lotion) on him.

I am hoping Kylee will get it too, and just noticed a few red spots forming on her back. I figure it would be best just to get it over with and while I'm already taking time off. I know...selfish.

TWINS!!!

KYLEE and I are now TWINS!!!

She thinks it is so great that mommy now has glasses like she does. I've known I needed them for awhile now but really didn't want to get them. They have made a big difference and I'm sad I waited so long. I do look nerdy in them, but oh well. I'm becoming a bigger nerd each day.

The first thing Cannon said when he first saw my glasses was "where is my glasses?" I tell him his eyes are too beautiful to be behind glasses.