Speech Therapy

HOW could I have forgotten to blog about this?!?! I have shared this with some of you, but a lot of people have no idea about it! The day before Riley's birthday we had a birthday party for him. Jeff and I got him a fire truck house for his present. Riley would run around saying "Fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fi fire truck house!" At first we thought it was really funny and cute. Then we thought he was trying to say fire fighter truck house. Then we realized he was stuttering. How you ask? Well he started to do it with EVERYTHING! He would say things like "I want to play play play play play play play ball." Or " Baby baby baby baby baby baby baby Addie." Then he started to say things quieter, but still stutter. Then one day I asked him to say fire truck and he said "Fiiiiiiire, Fiiiiiiiire, Fiiiiiiire" then hit his fist to the side of his leg and said, "I can't do it!" It broke.my.heart! I had researched stuttering a little bit and found out it is kind of normal, especially in boys. The thing that wasn't normal was to have it progress so quickly and have him get upset about it. The other thing I worried about was how little Jeff could understand. I mean he probably only understands about 10% of what Riley is actually saying. I understand him like 95% of the time, but there are times where I don't have any idea what he is saying either. People around us are always looking to me for translation when he is talking to them. I mentioned it to my friend Courtney and she told me about this program Davis county offers. I called them up and they asked me a few questions about what was going on. Then she felt like it was definitely something to look into so she had me fill out this little survey. She told me it would go before a board of people and they would decide whether or not he needed to be tested. She also told me it would take about 2-3 weeks to find out. Well, 4 DAYS later I got a call that he was eligible for testing. I was kind of surprised they called so quickly, but was happy to get him in! I took him for testing on April 29. It was a group setting and they tested lots of areas including, vision, hearing, fine and gross motor skills, language, etc. After the testing they pull you into another room to discuss the findings, both good and bad. Well, Riley did well in most areas, but he FAILED the language part :( SAD, huh?! So now we have to go have 1-on-1 testing with a speech therapist. I'm still waiting for them to call to set it up. Oh ya, he also didn't pass the self help either. I'm not quite sure HOW they test that because it's not like they had him take his clothes off and then put them back on, or have him brush his teeth, or wash his hands. So I dunno? I guess we will have further testing on that as well. Either way, I would rather have things taken care of when he is young, rather than putting it off and having him get made fun of in school and stuff.

3 Months Old and a Blessing!

Addie turned 3 months old on Sunday! I can't believe so much time has passed and how big she is getting! She is finally pretty much grown out of her newborn clothes! Her 3-month clothing is definitely big on her, but I know she will grown into it in no time! We also had the opportunity to bless her at our Church on Sunday. While it wasn't your typical in-sacrament-meeting blessing, it was still as beautiful and spiritual, if not more! Jeff did such a great job! I am so thankful for a worthy husband who holds the Priesthood. It was nice to have our family and a few of our close friends celebrate her blessing with us. We are also grateful Brother Gomm took the time out of his morning to conduct the meeting! (Thanks Erika for lending us your husband earlier than needed on stake conference!) Not too much else has been going on! We are super excited to have my parents come visit in 2 weeks! I also booked my plane ticket to New Hampshire in October for one of my best friends wedding! Jeff was supposed to come with me, and for reasons I won't get into, he is no longer able to...it is HUGE disappointment and I'm really heart broken about the situation. BUT I am going to have a BLAST with some of my favorites while I am there :)

Our little eternal family after the blessing!

Addie's monthly picture! I haven't uploaded one for April...but I'll do that shortly...better late than never :)

Easter or April Fools Day??

Yesterday was Easter...or was it? It felt more like April fools day at our house! Riley woke up at 4 am with a fever which meant I knew we weren't going to church like we had planned. I was bummed. I had bought Addie a super cute dress to wear and Jeffs parents had gotten Riley a dang cute outfit for his birthday. I was ready to show off my cute kids. Well Riley started to decline as the day progressed. Jeff was at church because he had to teach his Sunday school class. I text him and said he needed to come home so I could take Riley to the instacare down the street. When we got these his fever was up to 102 (not THAT big of a deal) but he was super lethargic. By the time the Dr came in he was almost passed out...it was really scary for me and the dr!! They ran a bunch of tests and they all came back negative. They told me if Riley didn't start to perk up they were going to send us to the ER for a spinal tap to check for meningitis (insert minor FREAK out!) They gave him some meds and juice and had us hang around for awhile. They also wanted a urine sample and since he isn't potty trained yet (awesome mom award since the dr was like he's potty trained right?) they had to put this bag on him. So he started to perk up about 30-45 min later and he finally peed! His urine came back clean and his strep test too...since he wasn't so lethargic they sent us home. I was glad we didn't have to think about the word meningitis again! They told us to keep him away from the baby because she can't fight things as well and we didn't really know what he had anyway. He's been a trooper with steering clear from his little sister and keeps saying, "But I love her! " too cute! Ok so heres the 2nd half of this joke of a day! So while Jeff was at church I got a text from my friend Katie. She was like are you guys still blessing Addie next Suday because apparently it is stake conference?! So I called her and she said at the end of sacrament the bishop announced that next week was stake conference, which means no sacrament and no baby blessing! We both were scheduled to bless our babies that day so we were kinda freaking out hoping he was wrong. Not to mention we had set up this specific day to bless her back in FEBRUARY when she was born! So I frantically texted Jeff (along with a million other texts about Riley being sick) to go talk to someone in the bishoprique about it. Our invitations had already been sent out weeks ago and people had RSVP'd! Katie had also had this day approved as well by the bishoprique so we were rather confused and U.P.S.E.T. To say the least! So Jeff finally calls me and I can tell by the tone of his voice it isn't good news...yup next week is stake conference and too bad so freaking sad for us we can't bless her!!!!! At this point I am FUMING mad and bawling my eyes out! I understand we have a new bishoprique but this is a HUGE mistake and effects so many more people than just me! I mean we have people coming from Logan, Provo, Salt Lake, etc! So now what am I supposed to do with the 30-something people coming to my house next Snday that have rearranged their callings so they can make it? Well, the solution we were given is we can do it another Sunday (ya, not going to work), at our house or in the RS room. So, we decided to do it in the RS room on Sunday at the same time. We have been told someone from the bishoprique WILL be there to conduct the meeting. So we are blessing our baby, we just dont get to do it in front of our ward family too. Blessing her is all that matters. I'm done being so pissed about it. I love our bishoprique and to be honest all of the men serving In It are my friends husbands. I hope they don't get offended when they read this. But seriously it sucks. Yesterday was lame. Addie didn't get to wear an Easter dress on her first Easter and Riley was too sick to be anything near excited about what the Easter bunny brought him. I obviously didnt have the Spirit with me because I was so mad. So, I think I'll go celebrate Jesus now and that he is my Savior. I love him.

PS. So sad and sorry there are no Easter pics to post!

Projectile Vomit and a 2 Month Checkup!

So last Friday Addison decided it would be fun to start projectile vomiting. It FREAKED me out! I had NO idea why she was doing it and I was worried something was wrong. I mean she was in the middle of nursing and she lifted her head and started shooting vomit out her mouth...sorry to be so descriptive but that's what happened! We NEVER take her out and no one comes here because I am a HUGE worry wart about germs and don't want her to get sick. So anyway, I called the Dr's office bawling my eyes out and made an appointment for their next available slot, which was like an hour later. We took her in and well, she was FINE! I wasn't mad that she was ok, in fact I was thrilled, just confused. But what worried me more was her weight. She was ONLY 7 lbs 7 oz and was a WEEK away from being 2 MONTHS old! Heck, when I was born I weighed 7 lbs 6 oz! I asked the Dr. what he thought and he said, well she has gained a pound since we last saw her so she isn't loosing. He said they would evaluate it at her next appointment- which was in a week. Anyway, this was kind of a wake up call to me. In 5 weeks she had only gained a pound. We were still really struggling with breast feeding. I mulled it over the weekend and decided I was going to only pump and feed it to her in a bottle. That way I KNEW she was getting something. Well I wasn't getting enough for the whole day to satisfy her...I was like one bottle short so we started supplementing with formula for that one feeding. After the first day of feeding her my milk through a bottle and 1 bottle of formula she COMPLETELY changed! She was SO happy. She started smiling a TON more. Our whole family became less stressed. I felt like a new person and a new mom. I didn't DREAD having to feed her. Life was definitely good. Well today was her 2 month checkup. So we are now 1 week post vomiting issue and 4 days into bottle feeding. You ready for this????? Since last Friday...1 WEEK...she has gained 1 lb 1 oz and 1 1/4 inches! ARE YOU KIDDING ME????!!?! I have been starving my child. LAME. All because I felt like I really NEEDED to breast feed...like I was a failure if I didn't. How STUPID is that?!?! The Dr. today was REALLY pleased with her turn around and she is actually on the charts now. I think she might have even made it to the 10%! He told me he wants us to bring her in every week for the next few weeks to track her weight and make sure it continues in an upward pattern. I am THRILLED though. Who freakin cares if I can't breast feed. I want my baby to be HEALTHY. Not pretend to be healthy because she has breast milk. Breast is best...but not when your child isn't getting enough. I feel so much peace now knowing that she is growing, smiling more, happy, etc. I don't feel guilty that I have to feed her formula. She got BM for the first 2 months and I still am going to pump a little so she has some. Anyway, I'm going to get off my soap box. So my little Addie weighs 8 lbs 8 oz and is 22 1/4 inches! WOO HOO! She is still WAY smaller than Riley was at 2 months...but who cares. She is my little baby girl and I love her to pieces :)

This is Addison's birth announcement! I LOVE it. We are sending them out...but we don't have a billion dollars to send them to all of our friends...so here is a digital copy! Some of you will be getting a hard copy to cherish (lol)...but we wanted to share with everyone we love...so here ya go!

Happy Birthday!

So this post is a wee bit late...but I have been SO busy. Anyway, on March 20th Riley turned 3!!! I can't believe my little boy is 3 years old already! It's fun to see the difference between a new baby and a 3 year old. I can't believe he was ever as little as Addie. Riley is in to all things BOY! We got him a fire truck house for this birthday and he LOVES it! I saw it on a deal at this site called kids.woot They have daily deals and have really good prices! Anyway, we got the fire house for like half off! To be honest, it is kind of like a boys doll house!

Anyway, since Riley's birthday was on a Sunday we had his party on Saturday afternoon. Jeff's whole family came and then my mom was in town as well! It was a blast. We made home made pizza and I made a DELISH berry-licious cake. It was from weight watchers (that's another post) and it was SO good and it is not too bad for you either! It's great! Anyway, my mom and dad bought Riley a house to play in outside and Jeff's parents and sister got him a slide! He was in HEAVEN!



**NOTE: Random children were not included with Riley's presents!**

Jeff's brother and his wife got Riley this wicked awesome Robot book! He seriously was so happy!

He is definitely spoiled...but he is our first AND it had been a long time since there was a grandbaby born into either family! We love our little Riley and are excited to see what new things he comes up with this year! Here is a little info on our Ry guy:

*HE loves firetrucks! I asked him the other day what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said "A FireTruck! Woo Woo Woo" (you know the siren sound they make haha)
* He loves to play ball and will play with ANYONE who walks in the door!
* He loves cars and monster trucks!
* He tries to sing along to the opening songs of his favorite TV shows...he's not very good at knowing the words but he is FREAKIN HILARIOUS to listen to! His favorites are Dora the Explorer, Go Go ( Go Diego Go), Caillou, Clubhouse (Mickey Mouse) and Bob the Builder! Our favorite to watch him sing is Bob the builder! I'll have Jeff upload a video of it later tonight :)
*He can count to 5...and sometimes 10
*He LOVES fruit...especially strawberries
*He is such a good big brother! He loves Baby Addie and tells us all the time! He says "Mama, I like Baby Addie!"
*He loves loves loves his Papas and Grammas and cousins and aunts and uncles! It is like Christmas morning EVERY time he gets to see them
*He knows how to get places while driving and will tell you which way to go (and he is right 99% of the time!)
*He loves to play outside
*He is a huge homebody...if he has the choice to go somewhere he will choose to stay home! (Totally his father's son!)
*He is really polite (most of the time) and says please and thank you lots!
*His favorite foods are chicken nuggets, hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, mac n cheese, shredded cheese, strawberry jam, milk, any fruit you allow him to have, green beans, carrots, yogurt, and of course candy!

We love you Riley! We are so blessed to have you as our son! There is NEVER a dull day with you around! Thanks for making us laugh and smile all the time. Here is to the best 3rd year a little boy could have :)

CAKE

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...ok just kidding. It's not my party (my birthday isn't for another 3 months) but I did cry today. I'm just feeling super overwhelmed. Anyway, we won't get into that. Instead, I'd like to tell you about the Cake I want. It isn't edible. It is BEAUTIFUL though. And very expensive. SIGH. Like so expensive I won't have one for a very very very long time. If ever. Sigh. I have expensive taste. I'm not sure why. Would you like to see the Cake I want? It's Berry Chiffon Cake. Doesn't that just sound expensive? Like even if it WERE edible? Well here goes nothing. I'm going to show you a picture. But be warned. You may fall in love too and want one.

This cake is a whopping $349. Yupp. That is why I won't be getting one anytime soon. I think I'll save my allowance. Oh wait, I don't get an allowance. Shucks. Maybe if I am a really good girl Jeff will buy me one. But then I will feel guilty that we spent almost $400 on a PURSE!!!! But seriously, it's beautiful. It's made out of Italian cut velvet. It's soft...and pretty. Maybe I can have a slice of Cake?

That slice is the matching wallet. Yum. It's only $128. ONLY right??!! Haha. Who am I kidding? I DO have a coupon though :) One day my friends, one day.
Internet shopping made me feel better today about everything I was overwhelmed with (it didn't make it go away or change the situation, it just took the sting away for a little while). Other than the fact that it brought to my attention that we are not filthy rich and can't afford $400 purses lol.

Sigh...

I'm struggling with life today....it's not full of roses, sunshine, and pretty things.