Not Going to Happen.

With Chris driving up and down the canyon everyday to coach, he has renewed his interest in getting a motorcycle. To scratch that itch we made a quick trip to the BMW dealership.



Presley loved the motorcycles. So did Chris. I think this is about as close to getting one as he will get. I did like to orange color though . . .

Has it really been . . .

10 years?!?!?


After a day at the pool--I have sunburned baby hand prints on my legs--and an afternoon of relaxing, we celebrated with dinner at one of our favorites, Bombay House and then home-made dessert. Yes, this picture was taken with my new camera (this is the last in a series of trying to get a good "date night/anniversary shot", Chris was done). Thanks!

Here's to at least 10 more!

15 months.

Here's what we know about Stella at 15 months:

• 18 pounds (barely!)
• 29.5 inches long

Stella loves to climb onto and off of anything she can--chairs, couches, beds (tricky to get down)--she likes to swing but can get a bit nervous if she is too high, LOVES to give kisses, is a loud screamer, and we are still trying to work out her tummy issues.

Lately Stella has learned to stand up from a squat position, ride her Wheely Bee, and push around the kid-sized chair like a walker (she is not yet walking on her own).

I still love her toothy smiles!

Learning.

Presley is learning to READ! This is the very same book my mom used to teach my little brother how to read, and so far it has been a good start. It uses Phonics rather than word recognition, which I feel will be a better foundation for actually learning to read/knowing the theory vs. only recognizing words.

We start each day with a 20 minute lesson--we do it in our pjs in bed, before anyone else is up (no distractions). We are taking it slow and easy but I think Presley is having fun.

Lanterns.

I have always wanted to decorate with paper lanterns. Last night we went to a beautiful wedding decorated with paper lanterns strung throughout the trees and large, clear bulb lights running on the bridges and fences of an old mountain orchard.

It was so pretty I volunteered to help clean up after the affair so that I could borrow the lights for a small party of our own that we hosted tonight.

New job.

Chris usually works from home--traveling on the weekends throughout the year for Gold Medal Squared. Well, now I will join the ranks of most stay at home moms. Chris starts a new 'job' on Friday. He will be driving down to Provo daily to be the volunteer coaching assistant for the BYU Women's Volleyball team.

No more quick runs to the store while the girls are napping. No more days off (for me) while Chris stays home with the girls. It is going to be an adjustment--for all of us, one we are happy to make for Chris to pursue coaching.

Presley is excited to learn how to "jump higher" from the girls on the team.

10 years.

We still have a couple weeks until the big 10 year anniversary, but I had to do something. When we got married I got blue and cream stoneware--I couldn't stand them any longer!


Out they went--plates, bowls, mugs--perhaps someone needs them?? Not wanting to invest too much in new white plates, I got the Pottery Barn Caterer's Box sets. Nice price, nice plates. Too bad they don't have a Caterer's set of bowls.

Our little bug.

After a few days of adding in pre-digested proteins (amino acids), Stella will be getting baby meat added to her diet. Nights have been hit and miss with the screaming/pain since we started adding in the proteins--we will see how things continue . . . .

This all feels like some big experiment to find out what she can tolerate. I hope it leads to some kind of answer and solution.

Princess Camp.

With Chris out of town (hiking with the scouts on a 50 miler) for a WEEK, I decided that I would need some help with the girls. I was so glad to hear the neighbor girls were signed up for "Princess Camp" at Presley's new preschool that I called the morning of the first class to beg for a spot for Presley. No begging required and it was a great "test run" for Presley and the whole idea of school.

Here is what I was able to capture with the camera before I accidentally put it into 'count down timer' mode and missed nearly all the performance (dancing to a Little Mermaid song).




After a week of missing afternoon naps, playing with friends, making princess crafts, and dancing--Presley was exhausted but so happy. She is still carrying around her magic wand! She was perfectly fine being left alone in a new environment and I learned that I am so happy I signed her up for morning preschool this fall--Presley can simply NOT go without too many naps.

Doctor.

This morning an appointment opened up at the gastroenterologist! After paying our 28 day late health insurance (we were in the process of switching but Stella was denied, it is another long story) I took Stella in to see the doctor and find out what could possibly be wrong with her.

I have spent countless hours online looking into so many problems and worrying about what could possibly be making Stella's tummy so upset. I am happy to say that after visiting with the doctor (who listened a lot and was truly a wonderful doctor), we have a course of action and 3 steps to follow to figure this thing out.


First things first, Stella is going to stop the Prevacid--it was showing no real benefit and is probably limiting her digestion. Next, I am adding a pre-digested protein (called Eo28, sounds yummy huh?) to her diet and after a few days we should know if her tummy can tolerate this addition. If so the next step would be to add in meat proteins and go on from there.

If this doesn't work the doctor will put Stella on a prescription enzyme to aid in digestion, then lastly a scope and biopsies of her esophagus and stomach to diagnose what could possibly be some scary things. I am hoping it doesn't come to that.

I will keep everyone posted!