Emma's "Anna Elsa Birday"

Emma turned 2 on October 17. And she has definitely been showing signs of the terrible twos for several weeks. I think that has to do with the fact that she will no longer take naps and that's mostly because we got rid of her binky. So maybe it's my fault but she was too attached to her binky so we threw it out. She goes to bed just fine at night, thankfully. And yes, we've tried the whole cry it out for naps but she doesn't stop and a couple of days ago, she sky dived out of her crib and got out of her room all by herself. So I'm afraid the cry it out method is no longer an option, because she has figured out how to get around that. So for now, she just gets to pass on naps but go to bed a little earlier. She's actually not too bad without naps just a little more whiny. She is also impossible to go shopping with because she will throw a fit the whole time. Sheesh! And she has become a picky eater. She's a stinker. BUT most of the time, Emma is too cute to handle. She has been super girly lately and loves to wear her puffy skirts. She still loves to snuggle with me. Her and Jocelyn play really well together, most of the time. Emma loves to sing lullabies and other songs. Her favorite phrase is "stop it," though not my favorite but sometimes cute. She's independent and sassy. She repeats every last word you say and then chatters away the rest of the time. She loves anything Anna and Elsa which is why we did a Frozen themed birthday. She kept saying, "Anna Elsa birday" for weeks.

 Cute banner was found HERE.

It's snowing!

So here's how her special day went. I made muffins for breakfast. I put candles on her muffin and at first Emma didn't like the attention. She put her head down on the table. It was hilarious. But when she found out that she got to blow out her candles, she was pretty excited.

Then she got to open her presents from us. She got a My Little Pony Busy Book, a Frozen play set, and an Anna dress which is actually her Halloween costume. Jocey also got her Halloween costume since she's going to be Elsa. Perfect for the Frozen theme. So the girls got dressed up for the day and were absolutely adorable. I could hardly contain myself.

We went to Wendy's for lunch and then the girls just played with the new toys. We had one of Emma's favorite meals for dinner, pizza. She's very easy to please, as long as it's one of the five things she'll actually eat right now. And then after dinner, the extended family came over for cupcakes, ice-cream, and games. We have such a supportive family and they really spoiled Emma. She got some stuffed animals (Olaf tsum tsum, Minnie Mouse, and goldfish beanie baby), cute pink boots, a magnet dress up doll, a baby doll, a music mat, and money. She also enjoyed several phone calls and loved being sung to.

This is my attempt at making an Anna cupcake dress.

Thanks for everyone who helped make Emma's special day so wonderful! We love you all!

Pumpkin Patch Time

We went to Fog Willow Farms (a pumpkin patch) again this year. And we went on a Monday since Dave had it off for Columbus Day. It was great! We first hit up the hay ride. Yee haw!

Then of course, I had to get the traditional picture of the girls on the pumpkins. They're so cute.

Then we saw all the animals and the girls played on the hay bales.

We saw how the girls measured up.

And the girls got to ride "horses." Giddy up!

There were cute photo ops.

And last we finished off with more horsey rides. These swings were pretty cool and the girls loved them!

 

A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad...Weekend

This past weekend was not a good one. Jocelyn was so sick, throwing up sick. She has been very predictable in the past when this happens. She doesn't even last for 24 hours. Her little bugs are gone after just 12 hours. She throws up in the morning a couple times but by dinner time, she's back to normal. Well this weekend was very different.

She started throwing up Friday afternoon. And she kept at it. She couldn't keep any liquids or solids down. She kept having some good chunks of time with no vomiting and we thought we were in the clear but then she'd start throwing up again. By Saturday afternoon, I started worrying. And by Sunday morning, I broke down as I saw her start throwing up again. I felt so helpless. I couldn't do anything to help my baby girl. She was thirsty and hungry but couldn't keep anything down no matter what we did. That evening, around 5:30 Dave took her to the ER. We had sent Emma to my in-laws earlier because I had started feeling queasy and we didn't want her to get sick too. Anyway, here's part of Dave's post on Facebook to tell his experience at hospital #1 since I wasn't there:

Jocelyn wasn't able to keep down food or water for over two days, so I took her to the ER at Mercy Folsom for dehydration. When we got there, they poked at her stomach and asked if it hurt, and she nodded yes (she had not complained of stomach pain up to this point). They did a chest Xray, ultrasound and urine test. During the ultrasound, Jocey was wincing and uncomfortable when they pressed down on her appendix. Eventually they told me they suspect she has mild appendicitis and needs to be transferred to UC Davis for surgery! They gave her some Zofran to calm her stomach and hooked her up to an IV. We rode in an ambulance to UC Davis, and Kathryn met us there. The pediatric docs pressed on her stomach and she seemed fine, so they immediately doubted the appendicitis diagnosis.

Ok, now back to my story. They told us Jocey would need to stay over night so when Jocey got into a room, Dave headed home around 11pm. The past two nights had been rough since Jocey was throwing up through the night. But Dave let me sleep in both mornings and let me sleep through the second night and took such good care of Jocey. I am so grateful it was the weekend so Dave was home to help with this. He was so good through the whole ordeal. Anyway, they continued to pump fluids into Jocey's body. They switched out the regular drip with a glucose one to help get her blood sugar back up. They drew more blood to see if she was improving. The wanted to look at her white blood cell count which if high usually means an infection, or appendicitis since that was her diagnosis. They were trying to rule that out since nothing seemed to really point to that. They said the ultrasound at Mercy Folsom had been inconclusive.

So after awhile, the doctor came in and said her white blood cell count was normal. Whew! So she just has a bad stomach virus. He did say if her stomach pain returned, to bring her back in. Honestly, Dave thinks the pain was simply the doctor pushing too hard on her stomach. It was already so weak so I'm sure the pressure didn't feel good. I'm just glad we didn't have to do surgery. The nurse said her blood sugar was back up so then they said that as soon as she can drink again they would discharge her. They gave her some water and was able to keep it down. So I called Dave to come back and pick us up and we left at about 3:30am.

We all went home and to bed and then we all slept in. When we woke up we still wanted to take things slow in regards to food and drink, so we made sure she could keep down some water first. She did good with that so we gave her some cheerios. She kept that down. So she eventually got to eat toast, yogurt, and some cheese. Everything stayed down and she was able to join us for dinner. We went and picked up Emma in the afternoon and she doesn't seem to have caught the bug.

Everything was fine through the night and morning, but come Tuesday afternoon, Jocey threw up again. I took it surprisingly well. I thought I would break down again but I cleaned up the mess and we started the slow process of liquid intake again. When Dave got home from work, I had him go pick up Jocey's prescription for Zofran and immediately gave it to her. I talked to my brother Brad, who's a doctor, and on Wednesday called Jocey's pediatrician's office for advice. She has not thrown up again. She has way more energy and seems to finally be in the clear. We are stopping the Zofran at the pediatrician's suggestion, to make sure she has actually stopped throwing up on her own and not because of the Zofran.

Here's hoping and praying, the nasty bug is finally gone. And here's hoping and praying it doesn't attack anyone else.

Apple Hill Adventures

This past week, we went to Apple Hill for our preschool field trip. Apple Hill is made up of ranches in Placerville that open up to the public for apple picking, pumpkin picking, Christmas trees, lots of craft vendors, and goodies galore.

We went to High Hill Ranch and got a private tour. The day started out by pouring rain but by the time we all got there and ready to go, the rain stopped. It really worked out perfectly. We started with a hay ride. They took us around their apple orchard. Then on foot they showed us the huge freezer, where apples actually can stay good for up to three years. We saw where they sort apples, make apple juice and cider, store their pies, and peel and core apples for the pies. The girls got to feed ducks and then we got some apples and apple juice to sample. We ate lunch and then went shopping. We got apple donuts, apples, apple cider, and caramel apples. So delicious! We had a great time. Such a fun place and atmosphere!

 

Apples being sorted.

 

Apples being peeled.

Utah and Las Vegas, Here We Come!

Last Christmas, Dave signed us up for a vacation package.  Basically if we listen to a time share presentation, we win a cruise, regardless if we sign up or not.  That was the enticement, the cruise.  So we planned a trip to Las Vegas where we would be put up in a nice hotel and then sit through a time share presentation.

I hadn't been to Utah for over a year so I decided to make a big trip out of, starting in Northern Utah and then making my way down to Las Vegas.  The girls and I (Dave didn't get to join us in Utah) drove to Reno and stayed with my cousin, Christine and her family for a night.  I feel like knocking out that first two hours made such a difference on our second day of travel. Anyway, the next morning, we met up with my in-laws down the road and then caravanned out to Utah.  We all stopped in West Jordan for a few days to see Josh and Tara and their kids.  Tara had just had a baby so it was the first time meeting little Allie. The girls and I actually stayed in Sandy with my aunt Sandra and uncle Randy.  It had been years since I'd seen them so it was fun to catch up.

We had a fun time with Josh and Tara.  We had lots of good food, watched movies, played games, and played at the park.  The girls loved playing with their cousins.

 

Little Allie.

Jocey really enjoyed dessert but cones are hard to eat.

I also met up with some of old roommates for Sunday dinner.  It was fun to catch up with Alicia, Stephanie, and Lindsay.  We had such great times together and I love catching up.

I also met up with my home town friend, Chamrie, who has moved up to Orem.  The girls stayed with her husband and kids while we had a dinner date.  It was nice to catch up too.  It's always fun to see how life turns out.

On our last day up north, as we started our drive down to southern Utah, we stopped at a park and played and had lunch with another one of my roommates, Betsy,d and her boys.

After that, we stopped at BYU where we met up with Matt, Dave's brother.  We bought some BYU mint brownies and some new BYU t-shirts and license plate covers.  Then we walked around campus looking at the changes that have been made.  I love BYU!  I get so excited every time I visit.  So many good memories and happy times.

We said our goodbyes and then headed down to Enoch.  We stayed at my parents' house even though they're not there right now.  My cousin Kipp and his wife Lauren are living there while my parents are on their mission.  They are the cutest and funnest couple ever.  It was really fun to get to know them both better. They both work and Kipp is in school so we really only saw each other at night.  But we talked a lot.

One night we headed back up to Beaver to see some Brough family.  They are so fun and hilarious and always make me feel so welcome.  We had dinner and then played games and then the girls and I headed back to Enoch.

Second cousins.

During the weekend, the girls and I went to lunch at Sizzler with my grandpa and two aunts, Carol and Norma.

I was also able to see one of my best friends, Holly, a couple times and meet her twins.  We also had Sunday family dinner, played at the park and outside, had family walks, had a surprise visit from my auntie Angela, and on our last night had a family BBQ.

 

Boston and Taylor.

 

Auntie Angela.

 

I love Enoch scenery.

The girls with Grandpa Great.

We are so studious.

 Ok here's a normal picture with my cousins, Lauren and Kaela.

We were able to see so many family members and friends on our trip out to Utah. Such a blast!

From Utah, we drove to Las Vegas, where we picked up Dave at the airport and checked into Circus Circus for a night.  We saw some acrobatic shows, ate good food, pretended to play arcade games, and went to the amusement park inside the casino called, The Adventuredome the following morning.  Emma was not too thrilled with the place nor was she tall enough for most rides so she and I mostly just watched Dave and Jocey enjoy the place.  They went on every ride they could and had a blast!

Later that day we headed to our BlueGreen vacation package hotel.  It was even nicer than the Circus Circus room.  It was like a fully furnished little apartment.  That night we went swimming and then just ate leftovers from the night before.

The next morning was our time share presentation.  It was interesting and informative but WAY TOO LONG!!  The girls were completely done after the 3 hour long presentation.  We said no.  And then said no again and again.  The presenter was very nice but I think most are told not to take no for an answer.  But we won!  We quickly headed to lunch and then Emma and I took naps, while Dave and Jocey went swimming again.

After naps, we headed to the strip.  We went to the M&M factory and watched a 3D film and then let Jocey pick out some M&Ms by color. That place is four stories high with all kinds of merchandise. So cool.

Notice how Jocey is holding the M&M's hand.  So cute.

Then we headed to the Bellagio to watch the fountains. The girls were enthralled. I loved watching their reactions. I was a little disappointed though. I remember it being longer, not just one song. Oh well, still cool.

Next, we headed to see another free show at Caesar's Palace . We were late since they have these things placed at the very back of the casino. And it was actually kind of lame. But the fish tank made up for it. The girls enjoyed looking at all the fish. I had really wanted to go to the aquarium at another casino but we ran out of time. I blame Dave. Last, we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. It was delicious.

We went back to our hotel and went to bed. Then we headed home the next morning. The traveling is always the part that worries me most because I worry the girls will get too restless and bored and just whine and cry and scream the whole time. But they are great little travelers. We had a great trip but were glad to be back home and in our own beds.