Happy Birthday, Bailey!

On the 3rd of April my baby turned 2! I seriously don't know where the time went - I just blinked and it happened. We had a fantastic weekend celebrating our little princess!
It was the first Easter weekend in 3 years that Steve had off work, so we really just enjoyed being together. We started the day with a little Easter egg hunt with some friends. We then came home for birthday presents. Rachel gave Bailey her first pair of princess shoes and Matt gave her a bubble machine. Bailey loved both gifts! We put the unearthly amount of batteries in the bubble machine, fired her up, and the girls spent seriously like the next hour dancing, playing, and popping bubbles.



Our gift to Bailey was a Radio Flyer wagon. We put it together (but not fast enough for Bailey's liking), and took the gals out for a walk. Notice the girls' hair in this picture. It was sticky and nappy - covered in bubble solution from our bubble dance party.




That evening we had my sister, her husband, and their boys over for ice cream and cake.



On Sunday afternoon, we went to my brother's house in Ogden for an Easter/B-day party. Bailey had a ball -- she adores her aunts, uncles,cousins, and grandparents. She received some of her very favorite things as gifts; a baby doll, baby accessories, and bubbles. She got some darling clothes and lots and lots of attention. :)










I can hardly believe that my baby girl is two! She is such a sweet and fun little gal. She has experienced so many weird health issues in her short little life, and has proven herself a fighter. She is a strong little girl with such a big personality. Bailey is such a blessing to our little family and we are so grateful for her. Happy Birthday, Bailey! We love you!

Date to the Ballet

We have some wonderful friends who have children who dance with the Cache Valley Ballet. They gave us some tickets to see Firebird in which two of their children were dancing. I had planned to take Rachel to the Saturday matinee. I'm still not really sure how plans changed and how Steve agreed to it, but it was decided that Steve would take Rachel on a date to the ballet instead.



Rachel felt so special getting all dressed up to go out with her Daddy. They had a great time. Rachel LOVED the ballet and Steve said that he enjoyed it also. It just goes to show that this Daddy would do anything for his girls.

Progress

Today is a bitter-sweet day for us here at the Foster home. This morning we have a meeting with some people from the Up to Three program at Utah State University to sign Bailey out of their program. For the past 10 months or so, an occupational therapist from the program has been coming out to work with our little gal. Let me back up a little. Most of the two people who read this blog already know this, but to re-cap, Bailey has had eating issues. She just wouldn't eat any solid foods. When it came time to introduce solids to her, she wouldn't do it. That's an understatement; she'd gag, heave, cry, choke, etc. She had a huge aversion to anything coming even close to her mouth. She would only nurse, which was becoming a problem as time went on because she was always hungry and wasn't getting all the nutrients she needed. She was anemic for quite a while and, of course, wouldn't take the iron supplement that was prescribed -- if I forced it in, she'd promptly vomit.
Thanks to a great doctor, we got connected with this fantastic program at the university. They came out, visited with us, observed, and tested her. She was right where she needed to be or above in every area, but eating. A theory is that Little Bailey spent so much of her first year sick, that it caused some sensory issues. She had so many respiratory problems and struggled to much to just breathe, Poor Baby. So, Amy, an occupational therapist, started coming and working with us. She is amazing! She gave us so much support and so many great ideas. We just adore her.
It's been a bit of a long road, but Bailey is now doing so amazingly well. It's kind of funny to look back now and realize how much I took for granted with my other kids. They just ate. They just drank. Sure, it was messy, they had picky days, but they did it. Bailey was 19 months old when she drank out of a cup for the first time. (It was a sacrament cup at church and on my birthday. Happy birthday to me!)
Fast forward to today. Bailey is eating like a champ. When compared to most kids her age, she's still got a little way to go, but she's doing awesome! She has met and exceeded all the goals we made for her with the Up to Three program, and she did so well in follow up evaluations, that today we are meeting to sign her out of the program. It's been so good and such a valuable support to us. We are so grateful for them and so thrilled that Bailey is doing so great, but we will sure miss our Amy. I guess our consolation is that we will still have the Mii that Rachel made of her on the Wii. :)


We went to Angies last month and the kids enjoyed a free ice cream cone with their meals.



The noteworthy thing here is that Bailey was actually eating ice cream. She's actually become quite the fan. For the longest time she wouldn't touch anything of that texture or anything cold. Yay, Bailey! Hooray for progress!

Out with the old...

I'm getting a real hankering for some spring cleaning. All I need is spring. Really, though, I have a ton of projects that I'm actually anxious to do. Okay, so not so much that I'm super-thrilled and dying to do the work, but I'm excited for the finished product. One of those projects is purging and cleaning the garage. That's where the spring thing comes in. I do need a little bit of warmth and dryness to unload that abomination and organize it.


In an effort to at least start de-cluttering, I made a deal with the kids. We have some big toys that are too big to live full time in the house. They mainly stay in the garage and we rotate them in and out. I told the kids that if we sell (or get rid of) several of the old big things, that we'd buy them one new thing to replace all of the old. After careful thought and deliberation, they chose a new play kitchen. Okay, really it was a very fast, very unanimous decision. They are very excited for a new kitchen - so excited that they were okay as we sold a number of their other old things.



We got this Little Tikes kitchen back when Matt was about 3. It's been a favorite of all the kids. It was almost a little sad to see it go, but hey, new kitchen. :)

So at about this same time, we all went shopping for real furniture. Steve and I bought some very inexpensive couches in our first year of marriage which have lived in our living room (not the garage) since then. After so many years, they have seen a lot of life and are looking (and feeling) not so new. They're not in horrible shape, but it was time for new ones. Thanks to tax return 2009, this is the year for new couches.



We were amusingly and pleasantly surprised that the kids enjoyed furniture shopping so much. Sweet Matthew was helping keep an eye on the girls while Steve and I deliberated. At one point, we turned and they were gone. (We weren't worried as we new that Matt was with the gals). We rounded the corner and this found them enjoying a little entertainment.







It's been a really fun month as we've anticipated new furniture and done a little refreshening of our living room. It's also been kind of nostalgic. It's amazing how many memories are tied to furniture. I mean, as we're preparing to get rid of the old couches (anyone know anybody who needs new old couches?), we've taken quite a few strolls down memory lane. These couches were some of the first "big" purchases we made as newlyweds. We brought home each of our new babies and took the very first pictures holding those sweet little bundles on this furniture. We've sat for hours talking, laughing, crying, scheming, watching movies, visiting with friends and family... It's been a good ride. Thanks, Old Green Plaid Couch and Loveseat, thanks.

Bailey

It's been a very eventful week for our sweet little girl. Last week she started acting like she was coming down with a cold. She was a little stuffy and started with a little cough. Within less than a day, it became apparent that this was way more than a "little bug." After a very long and difficult night, we took her to the doctor who sent us straight to the hospital. Bailey got RSV when she was only 2 months old, and it was back with a vengeance. We picked Matt up from school, called my sister with an SOS to come get Matthew and Rachel, and then found ourselves in the hospital for the next 4 days.



The little sweetie felt miserable! Generally this gal doesn't hold still for anything. The fact that she spent days just lying in bed and wanting to be held, told all. We were treated wonderfully by the hospital staff, but poor Bailey didn't trust any of them and hid her head every time anyone walked in the door.

One evening Steve brought Matt and Rachel to see Bailey for a few minutes. He called from the parking lot to tell me they were on their way up. I expected that she'd be so excited to see them and maybe even perk up a bit. They walked in the door and when Bailey saw them she just burst into tears. She immediately reached for them.



Rachel was very sweet and gave up her beloved VSmile pocket (hand-held game) so that Bailey could have something to play with while in the hospital.




Bailey was finally starting to feel better, but wasn't doing too well at eating like the nurses wanted her to. Dad came one morning with donuts. This was one of the first smiles we saw while she was there.



On Saturday she finally started showing real progress - so much that by that night we were able to come home. She is doing so amazingly well and is, thankfully, back to her sweet, happy, silly self. We are so grateful for fantastic doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. We are also so thankful for dear friends and family who supported our little family with thoughts, prayers, and kind acts. My "big" kids did such a wonderful job rolling with the punches and we are so proud of them! It was a rough week, but it sure made us rememeber what is most important and how blessed we are.


So, we'd been home for a few days and were feeling a little cooped up. We decided to go for a ride and get some cokes (mmm..Mooches) just to get out of the house for a few minutes. While at the gas station, Steve decided to run the van through the car wash. Rachel thought it was great. Bailey - not so much.



It went from bad to worse.



Then even worse.



Poor Bailey!! And what a great mom I am! Instead of comforting her, I was snapping pictures. Ok, for the record, I was comforting and snapping. (That picture makes me giggle quite uncontrollably every time I see it.)





Rachel was literally laughing her little can off! Who knew a $5 car wash could elicit such entertainment and trauma?



Poor Babers was just plumb tuckered out after all the excitement.

Happy Birthday, Matthew!!

On January 19, my baby turned 11! It's so hard to believe that it's already been eleven years! Matthew sure took his time entering this world (40 hours of labor), but then it seems that the time after that has just flown!




Matt's birthday this year was a little different than in years past. He decided that instead of having a party with friends that he just wanted to celebrate with family. He stated that he's "getting older" and doesn't always want a party with friends. (Yikes!) We also had a little wrench thrown into our plans when we found out that Bailey had to have some minor oral surgery on his birthday. Matt's a good sport, though, and he was happy to have his b-day dinner the night before. His birthday ended up being pretty great anyway.


Among the celebrations, was a family birthday party in Ogden for all the folks celebrating birthdays in January. There was a great food, super company, and lots of fun.



I kind of chuckle at this picture above. Sure, a few of the people in the photo are birthday people who should be blowing out candles. The others are just puckered up for good measure. I guess it's kind of like the phenomenon of moving your mouth while feeding a baby or smiling while you're watching someone else get their picture taken.








It's been a fun week celebrating Matthew. He's just a great kid! He is thoughtful, kind, fun, clever, intelligent, responsible, and strong. We are so proud of who he is. We love him dearly and are excited to share the adventures that are yet to come! Happy Birthday, Matthew. We love you!!

Happy Birthday, Becky!!

Today is my baby sister's birthday. Sidenote: She's gonna be so mad at me. I see it like this, though. I may have just posted a picture of my 'avoid the camera at all costs and don't draw attention to me' sister, but it could be worse. She could be standing on a chair with an enormous, be-dazzled sombrero on her head surrounded by a slightly embarrassed wait-staff singing mostly off-key. Then I'd really be in trouble. :)

When I was born, I brought the family total to five. That's five kids. My parents thought they were pretty much done. Well, I suppose I had other thoughts on the matter. I don't recall this very well, but I have it from some pretty good sources that I started to pray EVERY night for a baby sister. I was four when Becky came to bring us to a finally finished grand total of six.

I'm glad it worked. :) Becky rocks! I'm serious. Those of you who know her, know what I'm talking about. She's the kind of person you'd hate if she weren't so wonderful. What do I mean? She's good at EVERYTHING! She's talented, beautiful, brilliant, thoughtful... yep, kinda unfair being her sister.

More than once in my life I have found myself in a church class, a dumb team building ice breaker activity for work, filling out getting-to-know-you surveys, etc. and having to answer the looming question: what are your talents? Tricky. So I set my brain to thinking. "I'm an artist. I am amazing with paint, charcoal, pencils, anything." Oh wait, that's Becky. Try again. "I can make just about anything! I am crafty and immensely creative. You should see the incredible Halloween costumes I make." Oops, Scratch that. Becky again. "I am very musical and have a great voice." Ah shucks! Yep - Beck. "I am a wonderful mother and my four boys think the sun rises and sets on my shoulders." Uh, you guessed it. Not me. Becky. She not only got the georgeous, thick, auburn hair, but all the talent genes. Everything she does is beautiful. We go to a family party and there's little question as to who brought which gifts. Hmmm... let's see, perfectly wrapped, ribbons, pretty bows, homemade tags with baubles and extras. Becky. Wrapped, no tag or card, but a good effort with the name of the recipient scrawled in Sharpie right on the gift wrap. Me.

So, Happy Birthday to my talented, beautiful, brilliant, thoughtful, and kind sister. Maybe it seems unfair that the scales are so obviously tipped in her favor when it comes to all the good stuff like talent, but I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: I still win. :) I have an wonderful sister and best friend.