Sick Sister, Spoiled Sister

Sick Sister!

Poor Lily has spent the day being poked, prodded, and suctioned by doctors and nurses! She woke up Monday night pretty congested and by last night the only evidence of her sad cry was her mouth open and tears in her eyes! She was so congested that she couldn't get ANY sound out at all. Her fever was 102.7 degrees at 1am. We gave her Tylenol and tried to comfort her as much as possible. Around 4am she finally fell into a relaxing sleep (she had been sleeping before but very uncomfortably and crying on and off(if you call it crying when there's no sound!)). It was so heartbreaking to have her feel so uncomfortable and be helpless to do anything for her. She slept for about 5 hrs after that (thank goodness we were all able to get a bit of sleep). But she woke this morning with a fever of 101 degrees. We gave her Tylenol to help with the fever and then decided we needed to take her to the doctor.

So naturally when we got in to the doctor her fever had broke and she was actually acting a bit like herself again. Regardless the doctor was concerned about the symptoms we described to him. He checked her out and tested her white blood count (poked her poor foot!). He thinks it viral (which is what we thought since Crystal has had a cold also), but he's concerned about it because of her age. So he gave us medication for Croup and he's going to call tonight and we'll decide if she needs the medicine or not. He also had us go to the hospital and get a mucus sample to try to figure out what strain of virus it is. They went ahead and sucked out as much as they could while they were at it. We'll find out tomorrow morning the results of the test. Regardless of what type of virus it is, the doctor said as long as she starts getting better instead of worse from here on out she'll be fine. We just have to wait it out and hope she doesn't get any worse!

The look in her eyes just makes me so sad!

She's laid like this with her arms curled up to

her chest (or mouth) since Monday night.

Her 'good' mood this afternoon at the doctor's office didn't

last long and she's back to crying with no voice again.

She'll feel better in a few days though and

be her sweet self again soon!

Spoiled Sister!

Crystal was being dragged along all afternoon with us sitting in waiting rooms (several without any toys!). We went to McDonald's in between (mostly because I forgot to eat breakfast and was dying) and not only did Crystal get to play on the big toy, but Daddy got her a Chicken Nugget Happy Meal (we generally eat off the dollar menu)! So after we ate we headed to the hospital to get Lily's test done. While sitting in the last waiting room, the lady at the information desk took a liking to Crystal and kept GIVING her toys.

This smile makes me happy!

Crystal has finally figured out the camera and

says 'cheese!' whenever I pull it out!

These are the toys she came home with today.

Not spoiled at all is she!

So when we got home today, Crystal had three new toys to play with and her sister had a band aid on her foot and a sore nose! Doesn't seem fair I know :(

Below are just some random pictures from the past week or so. Enjoy!

Crystal WANTED to have her picture taken! Doesn't happen often so I took advantage. Her fingers are always in her mouth! We can't convince her to keep them out! She doesn't suck on them though so it could be worse!

The pan and lid to the pan that go to her toy kitchen. For some reason she is always using the lid as a cellphone ... lol! She also thinks our flash drives are mini cellphones and occasionally the remote controls are cellphones too... hehe!

Ignore the hair! She pulls it out during her nap almost every day and we weren't leaving the house so I didn't bother fixing it! She was playing with her blocks Monday night, and I couldn't believe how high she was able to stack them! Her favorite part is pushing them down afterward! It took a lot of talking to keep her from knocking it down long enough for a picture!

Lily's favorite position is sitting up (her sister was the same way). She doesn't want to miss anything and this is the prime position to see everything that is going on! She can hold herself up for about a minute but then always falls either to the side or on her face .. hehe. The bumbo is a lifesaver! She can sit up and I know she isn't going to fall down and hurt herself! (Thanks Danielle for letting me borrow it!)

Lily's a Model!

When Lily was born, Ty's Aunt had a friend who needed a newborn to model her tutus for her website. Lily, being a newborn, was the perfect candidate! Ty's Aunt took the pictures and was kind enough to give them to me when she was done! Isn't she an amazing photographer?

This picture was taken a few weeks later in case

you were wondering why she looks fatter...lol.

Comparing Faces!

I have wanted to do this with Crystal for a long time but haven't gotten around to it. Now that we have two kids and we get the questions more and more I thought I'd sit down and finally do it. The following are questions we are constantly asked by people and instead of answering them I'll let you guys decide for yourselves!!!

Does Lily look like Crystal did when she was a baby?

Crystal.......................Lily

1 DAY OLD

I know Crystal's picture looks strange. I had to put it sideways to get them to fit right.

Crystal............................Lily

1 MONTH OLD

Crystal.....................Lily

2 MONTHS OLD

Crystal...........................Lily

3 MONTHS OLD

My opinion? As Lily gets older I do see more and more of Crystal's features in her, but for the most part they look like night and day to me ... literally since Lily's skin is actually quite a bit darker than Crystal's skin.

Does Crystal look more like her DAD or her MOM?

DAD...........Crystal............MOM

2 YEARS OLD

My Opinion? I'm really not sure. I change my mind every other day ... lol. Ty and I had a lot of similar features at this age so its hard to tell who she looks more like. If I had to choose though I would probably say her DAD. She looks to me like she has his nose and mouth! But don't take my word for it! Look at the picture and decide for yourself! :D

Does Lily look more like her DAD or her MOM?

(Now this one might be a little harder to decide because I didn't have a picture of Ty at 1 month or a picture of me at 3 months so I had to make 2 separate comparative pictures.)

MOM................................Lily...............

1 MONTH OLD

DAD.............................Lily

3 MONTHS OLD

My opinion? Right now I think she looks a lot like her MOM, but I suspect as she gets older that will probably change! :D

Lily is 3 months old!

So I realize its only been a week since I posted Lily's 2 month stats, but just yesterday Lily turned 3 months old! I was looking at pictures of her from in the hospital and the day we brought her home and I just can't get over how BIG she has gotten! She was sooo tiny and fragile and now she's very SOLID and catching up to other babies her age!

Then.........................NOW!

I couldn't find the doll we used in the first picture

but this one is relatively the same size!

Then.......................NOW!

I'm more than thrilled that she has grown so much and caught up to the other babies her age. But at the same time I wish she would stay my tiny newborn! She's growing up way too fast. Not to mention getting harder to lug around everywhere ... lol.

My Two Wonderful Blessings!

I have been thinking a lot lately about how funny life is. When I was young, I always hated it when I got stuck with a baby that spit up all the time and smelled like throw up... I would always leave feeling like I smelled like throw up too! I also did NOT like holding babies that slobbered constantly ... slobber is gross and icky! I was also petrified of babies who were noisy breathers because I was so nervous the whole time that they were going to stop breathing any minute. It was as if they were struggling to get in their next breath!

I was soooo glad when Crystal came along and she had NONE of these traits! She very very very rarely spit up and slobber only ran down her chin when she was teething. As for the breathing, I never had to worry about whether she would be able to get through her next breath... though she was a vocal sleeper, her breathing never sounded labored!

....then came Lily....

Lily spits up constantly... and ALWAYS smells like throw up no matter how often I wipe her face or how many times a day I change her clothes! And her breathing, oh dear goodness, her breathing! She often sounds as if every breath is a struggle, but the doctor assures us she is just fine and its completely normal. And just the past week .... you guessed it ... she has started to slobber ... I can't leave her lying on the couch without a burp rag under her because if she doesn't spit up all over it, she's guaranteed to slobber on it!

You would think I wouldn't be able to stand being around my own child, but that isn't the case! I can't get enough of her! I haven't even been strong enough to move her out of our bedroom yet at night. She still sleeps in the bassinet right next to me despite her noisy breathing! Though she spits up on me (once on my head and down my face ... not joking ... it was gross!), I still want to hold her all day and don't want to miss a minute!

I often wonder how well I would have handled it all if Crystal had been this way. People would always tell me its different when its your own child, but I don't believe it. I still don't like slobber or spit up even if its my child's slobber and spit up. BUT with burp rag in hand (and often good smelling wipes and extra sets of clothing ... lol), its not hard at all to look past it all and see the perfection underneath :D.

On the up side Lily sleeps through the night and she rarely has crying fits (though it has happened once or twice)! And there are only a few things more important to me than my sleep (don't worry my children come first... just not happily ... lol)!

And don't worry! For as much as Lily spits up you'd think it would affect her health but it hasn't AT ALL! She has over doubled her weight since birth!

I am so thankful for the two beautiful daughters that Heavenly Father has entrusted to us! Every day, I see them and wonder what wonderful thing I could have done do deserve them. They are perfect in every way and though I am not in any way perfect, I am thankful to be given the opportunity to watch them grow and to teach them and help them along the way.

Lily 2 Month Stats

As I said before, the few Christmas pictures are the only pictures I have of Lily at 2 months. She will be 3 months in a week, so technically this picture is still a 2 month picture... just not a very accurate one cuz she's grown so much the past few weeks... mostly in chubbiness not length... lol.

I just took these pictures today:

She is ALMOST sitting up on her own which is completely ridiculous because she's not even 3 months yet. The doctor told us to either keep her on her stomach or sitting up when she's awake because the back of her head is so flat from lying on her back to sleep. Because of this she sits up A LOT!

Sorry I couldn't catch a smile! She'd stop smiling every time the camera flashed...lol.

Can you believe how CHUBBY she has gotten!!!

Because Lily turned 2 months just before the doctor's office closed for Christmas break, we couldn't get her 2 month appointment till Jan. 4th which made her actually almost 2 and 1/2 months for her stats. She has GROWN that is for sure!

Here's her 2 month stats:

Weight: 12 LBS 6 OZS 40th %ile! She has over doubled her weight in 2 months!!!

Height: 21.5 inches 25th %ile.

Head: 37.5cm 10th %ile.

Doc says she's doing great! He doesn't think her flat head is a problem either since its still symmetrical so it won't be noticeable once she grows hair! Lets hope her hairs starts growing faster! Her hair isn't keeping up with her head growth ... lol ... so its starting to get pretty thin!!! hehe.

Christmas 2010!

We weren't going to be home for Christmas this year and we knew we couldn't fit 10 days worth of clothes, diapers, baby stuff, winter gear, us and the kids AND presents in our little car (though it does have a VERY good sized trunk... lol). Anyway, because of limited space we decided we would open presents on the 23rd (which happens to be our wedding anniversary too :D). So we had a whole week of present opening fun beginning on the 23rd of December. Of our amazing 10 day vacation, I think I only took like 8 pictures and all of them on Christmas Day ... HORRIBLE ... I know!!! I thought about taking pictures a lot but was feeling "vacation lazy" I guess .. lol ... as a result we have little to no proof of our Christmas vacation in Bear Lake! I'll just have to be boring and write about it without visuals ... sorry :(.

December 23

My parents had Crystal's present from them shipped to us instead of them so we wouldn't have to haul it home. Its a good thing because it was quite a large gift! We decided it wasn't going to fit under the tree so the night before Ty and I assembled it and sat it out so she would see it when she came downstairs!

By 9 that morning we had my parents and Ty's parents on the web cam and Crystal hadn't woke up yet so Ty when upstairs to wake her. One thing you should know about Crystal is she has a morning routine and DOES NOT like it to be disturbed! So mistake #1 we woke her up instead of letting her wake herself. Mistake # 2 we didn't let her sit with a blanket over her and watch her cartoon while drinking her warm milk first (yes it has to be JUST LIKE THAT!)!

Here is a video showing how it went:

So Ty carries her down the stairs all excited and showed her the spring horse we worked so hard to put together the night before .... and she whined and cried ... I know RUDE right? So we pull out the 1st present we want her to open. It was a MASSIVE present from her Grandma and Grandpa Cook! I didn't get video of her opening it though... surprise surprise I know...lol.

Once she realized we were going to let her open the presents under the tree that she'd been eying for weeks now, she started warming up to the idea of a different morning routine.

This is the presents under the tree before we opened them... we aren't spoiled at all are we... lol!

We all did pretty good. Especially Crystal! The MASSIVE present from Grandma and Grandpa Cook turned out to be a kitchen! And a Spring Horse from Grandma and Grandpa Gordon! Not to mention the other toys she got from us!!! We NEED a BIGGER place ... lol!

Once Ty got the kitchen assembled (it took 2 hrs and as you can see in the pic that didn't include putting the stickers on), we got ready for the day and celebrated our anniversary with the kids at Red Lobster!! It was SO good! One of my favorite places to eat so I was happy!

As SOON as we got home, it was time for Ty to go to work, sad I know! We didn't even have time to play with our new toys! Ty got a miniature ping pong table (it folds up and stores easily). When playing it, its the perfect size for our living room so its great! Ty got me a tennis racket so I could play tennis with the family in Bear Lake! He also got me a Movie Theater Popcorn Popper!!! I love it!!!

December 24

We got up and got ready for the day and started packing up the car!!! It was tough but we managed to fit EVERYTHING we needed/wanted in our little car, including the kids ... lol! We had really good roads all the way to Bear Lake! Only bad thing was our windshield randomly cracked from the seam on the passenger side toward the center of the windshield. Six months off the lot and the stupid windshield already needs replaced! We figure a rock must have hit the seam of the windshield for it to crack like that. It was upsetting but hopefully our insurance will pay to fix it (when we get around to it). I don't really want to replace it because then I'll just have to worry all the time about it getting a crack in it ... lol ... right now there's no pressure ... hehe ... doesn't matter if a rock hits it or not.

Anyway we got to the condo around the same time as Ty's parents and brothers and we all unpacked the vehicles and got things situated. Then it was time for the fun to begin!!! We had yummy steak and shrimp for dinner!!! And there was a ton of candy and snacks to be eaten! Later that evening we opened a present from Ty's parents... it was PJ'S!!! Ty and I love our new pjs. She got Crystal adorable PJ's too but I of course didn't get a picture... darn it! We all got comfy in our jammies and were ready to play bingo! But Bingo was no where to be found... it was in a sack with several other Christmas Eve Activities that was no where to be found. (We decided it got left at home but the day before we left Bear Lake Leslie found it in a rubbermaid container filled with boots... lol). Anyway since we didn't have bingo but we had tons of little presents to open we decided to improvise. We pulled out wits and wagers and played that to win presents. Ryan and I didn't do very well and only won a few presents, but I think Todd and Scott won the most ... lol ... it didn't really matter. Though Ty did win one of the gifts with money in it ... hehe.
After our game, the girls discovered the Elves had been there and left them matching PJ'S (On Christmas Eve the Elves always sneak in and leave PJ's on their bed!)... it was a good thing they found us since we weren't at home in our regular beds!

Christmas morning we discovered that Santa had found us too!!!!

Crystal LOVED her Little People Barn she got from Santa! She also got a microphone in her stocking that she loves to sing into!

Honestly, Lily really didn't care about what Santa got her, but I'm sure she'll love it in a few months! Crystal enjoys playing with it too! Lily also didn't care about any of the candy in her stocking, but it was okay cuz the rest of us ate it all for her... hehe.

Crystal didn't want to stop playing with her barn long enough to get pictures!

This picture was taken the day after Christmas. Crystal spent the ENTIRE vacation with a sucker in her mouth ... sometimes two! lol!

We had tons of fun in Bear Lake. We played tons of tennis in the indoor court (though it wasn't heated so it was freezing cold!). We also went swimming in the OUTDOOR pool almost every night! It was a good thing they kept it well heated or we would have froze! We spent lots of family time playing cards and a few Wii games we got for Christmas! We also went tubing and snowmobiling, but only for a few hours. It was VERY COLD, so the little ones faces were pretty cold after just a short time. Crystal, Ty and I went for a snowmobile ride... Ty had me nervous a few times (I was a little overprotective since my 2 yr old was riding with us). After that Ty and Crystal went down the hill on a tube ... Crystal loved it! Ty enjoyed being pulled back up on the tube with the snowmobile even more I think (don't worry crystal was riding up front with Grandpa not in the tube with Ty). He then insisted I go down with him ... I was actually REALLY scared but he made me go anyway! It was lots of fun! Cold but fun! After that Crystal didn't want to go down anymore ... her little face was cold! So Ty took the snowmobile and was pulling people back up the hill.

Now here's the climax of the tubing experience! We decided it would be fun to tie 3 tubes together and go down all at once. So the last people down the hill (I believe it was Todd, Kaylee, and Jared) went down together! Ty put Crystal on the snowmobile with him and rode down to get them. They were pretty heavy to pull even with the two seater snowmobile, but they decided they'd try it anyway. They tied the tubes to the snowmobile, and all three of them climbed back on the tubes. Watching from above we thought the snowmobile wouldn't pull all of them up the steep hill but figured if it didn't work it would just stop the snowmobile... no big deal. Well Ty decided to take them for a ride around the bottom before trying to pull them up it. He realized they were going too fast and stopped the snowmobile thinking once it caught the rope it would just stop the tubes. Instead the weight of the moving tubes pulled on the machine and tipped the entire snowmobile over!!! WITH MY BABY ON BOARD!!! Watching from the top of the hill my first worry was Ty's leg cuz I knew Crystal's legs weren't long enough to really reach around the machine. But upon second look I realized the machine didn't just tip over, it had ROLLED!! I then began yelling at Ty for not being more careful fearing that my baby was hurt (i know rude! But in my defense I could see he was okay at this point). Crystal was sitting under the snowmobile crying! The windshield and the seat back for the passenger had created a "triangle of life" of sorts and she was sitting underneath it! She was just fine thank goodness but it scared me SOOOO bad! Ty had probably saved both of them by only letting it roll upside down and not continue to roll. He knew if it kept rolling it would crush both of them so he did everything in his power to keep that from happening.

On that note, it was time to leave! I felt bad that we had to go after something so traumatic for Ty. I think he felt like we left because of him but we had to get back because some of his family was heading back home that day. We were concerned for a bit that Crystal had hurt her hand but it had just landed in the snow and was COLD! I'm so glad no one was injured. The snowmobile is even okay (other than a crack in the windshield!). We were not having good luck with windshields that week!!!!

We were going to leave for Idaho Falls Wednesday to spend some time with my family before going back to our regular routine of life, but it snowed and it snowed a lot! So Thursday afternoon we left with Ty's family to head for Idaho Falls. The roads weren't very good till we finally hit the freeway in McCammon. After that it was smooth sailing the rest of the way! That night at my parents house we yet again opened more presents (Crystal's going to think Christmas is a week long event ... lol). We spent New Year's Eve with my whole family! It was fun with movies, LOTS of food and fun games!!!! We spent Saturday recovering a bit and went home Sunday. We got home JUST in time for Ty to get in his car and go to work!

We had a wonderful Christmas break with family!!!! And I still haven't recovered ... or should I say my HOUSE and the LAUNDRY still haven't recovered! LOL!

(PS. These are also the only pictures I have of Lily and 2 months ... I know I've been a major slacker!)