Galland Family

4 month and 4 year well-checks

2012-01-20T15:31:00.002-07:00

Elliot and Jillian had their well-check visits with the doctor this month.
Elliot's stats:
26 inches long/82nd percentile
17 lbs 15 oz/ 93rd percentile

Jillian's stats:
40 inches tall/ 57th percentile
37.6 lbs/ 73rd percentile

Jillian got some shots and the flu nasal mist. She did pretty good. When the doctor told her that she was brave Jillian replied, "No, I screamed." At least she's honest.

Elliot was breathing really fast while we were at his check so they had him do a breathing treatment with the nebulizer and when that didn't help they sent us on up to the hospital to have him more closely monitored. We were there overnight and where they just monitored his breathing and continued to do treatments. I brought him home the next day and we've continued doing treatments. He was on an oral steroid for a few days and now he's on an inhaled steroid every day to keep his lungs open. Doctors don't diagnose babies with asthma because they're too young to do the diagnosing tests. They call what he has now reactive airway disease and we have a plan of action to keep him breathing. He's doing pretty good but I do have to pay close attention to his breathing. On a side note: He was 18lbs 4 oz just 3 days after his well-check. No wonder my back hurts every morning. He gains a pound every other week! Every single nurse we had at the hospital just loved him and wanted to take him home with them. I think he's pretty cute but I'm a little biased. Good to know it's not just me!

Jillian's 4th Birthday

2012-01-12T22:40:00.006-07:00

Jillian turned 4 last week. She wanted to have a Rapunzel party so we decorated accordingly. Floating lanterns and a long string of hair across the whole room.

Jillian saw the cake my aunt Marci made for her daughter Nyah's birthday and wanted one similar. This was my attempt. Notice the "hair" border on the bottom.

Being sung to. She asked me to sing "Happy Birthday" to her all day.

Blowing out the candles.

Chloe enjoying some cake. By the way, I made a gluten-free cake so Sean could eat it. Jillian took cupcakes to preschool that morning and they were not gluten-free.

Opening presents. This one is from Rosemary.

Tinkerbell slippers. She is still really excited about them.

A game from Grandma and Grandpa Porter.

The Lion King. Honestly, I think I got this for her more for me. Shhh...don't tell.

A Crayola Story Studio which takes a picture and puts it in a story with your favorite Disney characters so Jillian is in every page you print out to color.

A Minnie Mouse play set.

The Jeppson's came for pizza and cake on Saturday. They gave Jilly a book which she loves. She also got a magazine subscription from the Kelley family. She is always asking when her magazine will come in the mail. Grandma Galland sent a cute pair of Tinkerbell socks and Jillian barely lets me take them off her feet to wash them! Thanks for the gifts and making Jillian's 4th birthday, "The best birthday EVER!" (her words).

2012-01-12T14:32:00.002-07:00

We had a good Christmas. We spent it at home this year so no traveling which was quiet but nice. We had church at 9am so we just looked at the gifts Santa brought and left the other gifts until later.Santa brought Jillian a Unicorn Happy Napper which she has since named Corny. I think she was contemplating naming her Horny (because she has a horn), but Sean and I talked her out of that name for obvious reasons.Chloe found this little Elmo in her stocking. He is never very far away from Chloe.

Elliot got a little panda that he likes but I must not have taken a picture of it since I can't find one on my computer. He got a few other toys that his sisters have enjoyed playing with until he's old enough.

The girls got new dresses to wear to church and this was our attempt at a family photo. Luckily we took a few and got a nicer one:

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know we were blessed this year as we celebrated the birth of our Savior!

Sock Monkeys

2012-01-12T14:21:00.003-07:00

I did a lot of homemade gifts this year. The ones I'm most proud of were these sock monkeys I made. The top picture is of the ones I made for my nieces. I also made some for my kids. These are the girl's monkeys:

Jillian's is on the left with the tutu and Chloe's is on the right with the ruffle skirt.

And this brown one is Elliot's. You can see he was really impressed with it.

P.S. Heather-if your boys are feeling left out let me know and I'll whip them up a monkey too (but they might not get it 'til next Christmas!).

Decorations

2011-12-15T21:55:00.001-07:00

Can you tell I have a two-year-old in the house who likes to mess with the Christmas decorations? Surprisingly, she's left the gifts alone. Mostly.

Chloe Turns 2

2011-12-07T12:05:00.004-07:00

Friday was Chloe's 2nd birthday! She had her 2 year well check that morning. She is 24lbs which puts her in the 19th percentile for weight and 31 inches long which is the 3rd percentile for length. So she's still small, which we knew. She was also referred to early intervention for speech since she's not really talking.

We had Heather and her men over for cake and ice cream and to watch Chloe open her gifts. Opening a gift from Grandma and Grandpa Porter.

It's a tea set! Both girls love to play tea party now.

A stuffed horse from Rose. There are lots of fights over this guy between the girls.

A book from the Jeppson's. She's been carrying it around with her and Jillian makes me read it to them multiple times a day. If I can't read it right when she wants she'll "read" it herself to Chloe.

Chloe got a drum with some other instruments and a jacket from us.

Time for cake! She was embarrassed when everyone started singing to her.

Yummy! I think Chloe's birthday was a success!

Elliot's Blessing

2011-12-03T15:13:00.005-07:00

We had Thankgiving at my sister, Heather's house this year and since she lives a whole 5 miles away we didn't have to go to far. My parents and younger sister, Rosemary, came to spend the weekend with us. I cooked the turkey and made Sean some gluten-free foods so he wasn't left out and we had a fun time visiting and hanging out with everyone.

That Sunday we blessed Elliot since my parents were in town. I made his blessing outfit awhile ago and since I've only ever have small babies I was a bit worried that it wouldn't fit. Luckily, I made it big enough and Elliot had plenty of moving room. His blessing was very nice but we did have the smallest circle I've ever seen. Only Sean, my Dad, and Stephen (my brother-in-law) were in it (oh, plus my bishop). It was a very nice blessing. My Aunt Sheila and my cousin Melanie and her girls came and it was nice to have them there with us too!

Sad face:(

I think this is our first family picture since Elliot was born.

Stitches

2011-12-03T14:33:00.002-07:00

Chloe decided to help Sean do the dishes one night and while he was loading the dishwasher she got into it and grabbed the cheese grater and got her finger stuck. She pulled it off but sliced both sides of her finger in the process. Since she was bleeding pretty bad and the cut looked pretty deep, Sean rushed her to the ER while I stayed home with the other two kids. Good thing we took her in because she ended up with 10 stitches.

Warning: Stitched up finger pictures below.

Chloe had to have her whole hand wrapped because she wouldn't leave the one finger alone. She seemed fine after the first night and got her stitches out a week later without any problem. Her finger looks good now and is healing up nicely. No more helping with the dishes for Chloe!

Elliot at 2 months

2011-11-02T12:07:00.004-06:00

Elliot had his 2 month well check today. He is:

23.9 inches long, which is in the 82nd percentile
14lbs 14oz in weight, which is in the 98th (!) percentile
40.3 cm head circumference, which is in the 57th percentile

So basically he's a hefty kid with a small head but really, his head looks fine to me. The doctor looked him over and said he was perfect (what every mother wants to hear). We saw a different doctor today because our regular pediatrician is on maternity leave and won't be back until the end of January so Elliot will have his 4 month check with this other doctor as well.

Elliot is starting to smile and coo at us (mostly me but sometimes Sean). He still gets up 2-3 times in the night to eat but goes back to sleep pretty good so I guess I can't do too much complaining. At 2 months old, both of the girls were sleeping through the night most of the time so this is getting up multiple times in the night is new to me. He is usually pretty happy but really loves to be held which creates a bit of a problem when one of the girls needs me. I'm so happy Elliot is part of our family. I love this little man!

Halloween

2011-11-02T11:51:00.002-06:00

I was a bad picture taker this year. I think that sums up my whole year with pictures. I think it's because my hands are always full so I don't think to take a picture. Anyway, this year we went to Syracuse City's Pumpkin Walk. I got a picture of Jilly with some pumpkins.

Then on Halloween we went to the ward's Trunk-or-Treat. We brought Heather and the boys along as well.

Neither are great pictures but that's what I got. I wished I would've got a better picture of Jillian in her costume. I'm going to make her put it back on one of these days and take a better picture. I loved how her hair turned out.

Elliot as Yoda.

Grandma Came to Visit

2011-10-01T19:22:00.004-06:00

Grandma Galland came to visit this week. We had a good time hanging out. This is the only picture we got of her. But at least it's a cute one!

Elliot sporting his monkey pjs.

My three monkeys.

Sitting on the quilt made by Grandma Porter. It has aliens on it. So cute!

One Month Old

2011-10-01T19:12:00.002-06:00

Elliot is one month old today. I know, I can't believe it either! This kiddo makes the funniest little faces. The last one is my favorite.

Just Pictures

2011-09-15T16:08:00.003-06:00

Just some pictures we've taken over the last couple weeks.

Chloe grabbed a pair of Jillian's undies and put them on her head, then ran around the house screaming. Pretty entertaining.

Jillian on her first day of preschool. She has a blast!

Momma and son.

Chloe loves shoulder rides from her Dad.

Weeks One and Two

2011-09-14T12:42:00.003-06:00

Elliot's first week of life was an uneventful one. He ate a lot, slept a lot, and pooped a lot. Pretty average for a newborn. Jillian loves to hold him in her lap. She will be a good babysitter one day.

The three kiddos in their chairs, although, Chloe is actually in Elliot's car seat.

He's ready for his close up.

Elliot began his second week of life at the hospital. He started breathing really fast and it looked a lot like how Chloe was breathing when she went in for RSV so I took a video of his chest and tried to send it to Sean to see if he thought I was overreacting or if it was something we should get him in to the doctor for. My video wouldn't e-mail for some reason so Sean came home from work and we took Elliot to the after-hours kids care. The doctor couldn't figure out what was going on but since Elliot turned gray during his weird breathing episode he didn't want to chance anything so he sent us to Primary Children's Medical Center.

To make a long story short we waited in the ER for 6 hours before they decided to put us into 24-hour observation where his oxygen saturation levels fell overnight so they put him on oxygen. Since the 24-hour observation area is just for observation they moved us up to a room the next morning. Basically from there they did lots of examinations and ran some tests and still couldn't figure it out. It was mostly 3 days of waiting and watching. Finally, after nothing really conclusive, they sent us home with, "Must've been a one time fluke." He's been fine since he's been home and I'd rather it be a fluke than something really wrong with the little man. I did get asked a lot while we were there whether or not I had worked there before because I knew so much terminology and routines at the hospital. Everytime I said, "No, it just comes from being here so much." I will have to say, the more I go the the hospital, the less stressful it becomes. A double edged sword I guess.

Now we are battling with Jillian having a bit of the flu. Can't catch a break, can I? The hardest part of that is keeping her away from her favorite baby brother. But really, who can blame her for wanting to snuggle the little guy?

Elliot is here

2011-09-08T19:16:00.004-06:00

Elliot was born on September 1st at 6:46pm. He weighed 8 lbls 6 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long.

This is his first bath. He wasn't much of a fan.

One of the few times he had his eyes open at the hospital. I forget how much newborns sleep.

Ready to go home from the hospital.

If you just wanted pictures and don't want to know the labor/delivery story then you can stop reading now. Onto the story:

I'd been having contractions off and on starting on Tuesday (Aug 30th). I knew things were getting pretty close. On Wednesday night my contractions started to become regular so we hauled the girls over to my sister's house at 11:30pm and headed over to the hospital. I was still only dilated to 1 cm (which is what I was at my doctor's appointment the week before). They made me walk around for an hour and checked me again and I was dilated to 2 cm. I thought we were in business but the longer we were there the less regular my contractions came on although I was in a lot of pain. I got some drugs in me and the hospital finally told me to go home at 4:30am. I had my regular doctor's appointment at 9am so they told me to go to that. Sean and I went home and went to sleep. At 6:30 I woke up to use the bathroom and I started bleeding a lot so we went back into Labor and Delivery. They checked me again and things were the same and said the bleeding was nothing to worry about (I was freaked out because it was a lot of blood that I lost). They told me to go home and follow up at my doctor's appointment. We came home and I showered for my appointment and Sean drove me there. The doctor came in (luckily she was on-call the night before so was aware of my situation) and we went over my options. I was still in a lot of pain so I was ready to be done. After talking for a few minutes, she checked me and I was dilated to 4cm! I sat up and said, "Shut up!" Probably not the nicest thing to say but I was so surprised because the hospital kept sending me home saying that nothing was happening. The doctor asked if I felt like I was going crazy, which I did. She sent us straight back to the hospital and I got checked in to a room right away. This was at 10:30 am.

The rest of labor was fairly uneventful. I got an epidural and felt much better. My contractions never really got regular so they put me on pitocin and finally around 6:30pm I was fully dilated. I pushed a few times and out he came. If only delivery was that easy the first two times!

I am recovering really well since delivery was fairly easy. The girls love love love their new brother and we are trying to adjust to sleepless nights once again. Elliot is an easy going guy and mostly just sleeps and eats and poops (and boy ever does he poop!). We just love him!

Elliot Smiles

2011-09-08T17:25:00.002-06:00

Sorry about the background noise.

Picture round up

2011-08-22T16:11:00.003-06:00

Just a few pictures I've taken in the last few weeks.Chloe gearing up for Halloween. She's practicing being a ghost.

It is so hard to get them all to look at the camera at the same time. It's even harder to get them to all look pleasant at the same time. This was the best we could do.

She fell alseep after getting a time-out and being asked to sit in the chair. Most of the time she needs a nap instead of a time-out.

Fair

2011-08-21T18:54:00.004-06:00

We went to the Davis County fair yesterday for a little while. This particular fair is pretty small and we walked around most of it in an hour but it's free to get in (you only have to pay to park) and it was nice to get out and walk around for awhile. The girls really enjoyed looking at the animals. "Look at the bunnies!"

Chloe trying her hand at the hula hoop.

Jillian having fun hula hooping.

Jillian was asking what kind of animals were at the fair. She asked if we would see a giraffe or an elephant. I felt bad when I told her that there were only pigs, sheep, horses, and cows. Then we went to the petting zoo and there was a zebra. Guess I was wrong! You couldn't pet the zebra though. Lame.

Jillian and the tortoise. She made Sean hold her the whole time because she was scared of the goats.

Chloe checking out the tortoise from the stroller. She probably would've had fun getting in with the animals but we couldn't get in with the stroller and Sean already had to hold Jillian so maybe next time.

Checking out some piglets that were only 10 days old.

We had a good time and we got there as soon as it opened so the crowds were small (and most of the vendors weren't there yet which was ok by me because mostly they just pester you). We got to the 4-H barn right as they were starting the auction which was fun to watch for a minute. I couldn't understand the auctioneer so when he finished selling off a goat and it went for $1000 I looked at Sean and asked if I heard that right. Obviously, I am unaware of how much animals go for. Good thing Sean had raised a goat and could explain things to me.

And this probably isn't exciting to anyone but me but this is my 400th post!

Crafty

2011-08-02T15:17:00.006-06:00

Instead of trying to get my house in immaculate shape before this baby come (which is what happened while I was nesting with my girls) I am instead in a crafty type mood. I do enjoy making things but I think I'm seriously out of control.

While I was in Washington in May I crocheted this scarf from my sister for school. It was a fun scarf to crochet and I think I'll have to do more because it's so cute:

The other day I decided I needed a new Boppy cover. This is my old one. It would work for a boy just fine but it's stained and faded. This is the new one I made today:

Yeah, it's two toned in case I get tired of the green or the giraffe print.

Last week I made a blessing romper for this little guy. It had some major issues but I think I fixed them and as long as no one looks too close (in person) it'll be just fine.

I think my new favorite thing to do is put cute appliques on onesies. I know lots of people having babies this time of year (guess I'm in good company) so I'm stocking up. The cutest ones I've made have been for my brand new niece who was born last week but I'm not sure they have got them in the mail yet so I'll have to post them later so I don't ruin the surprise.

I have lots of projects running around in my head as well. I wish I had unlimited time and money so I could make all the things that are tempting me!

34 Weeks

2011-07-26T09:13:00.002-06:00

And the belly is getting large. Being pregnant in the summer is pretty miserable. Sean has resigned himself to sleeping on the couch because he says when he sleeps next to me he feels like he has a heater on him. I don't blame him though, I sleep better by myself these days too. I'm at the point where everything takes double the time to do because I can't move. It would be humorous if it weren't so darned annoying. In fact, I cut off all my hair in the hopes that would help me stay cooler. So far I don't think it's helped much but it's nice to have the hair gone anyway. Besides being miserable, thing are going well. The girls and I stay busy with projects and play dates. We are enjoying our last Tuesday off from Cub Scouts (our pack takes July off since it's the only month that the boys are out of school due to a year-round school schedule). Not many church callings you get a month break from:)

Summer Happenings

2011-07-19T14:25:00.005-06:00

I have been trying to get my pictures to upload for 3 days for this post. This is one of the many reasons I just don't blog as much anymore. Sheesh!
We've been keeping busy this summer with all kinds of things. I usually forget to bring my camera or when I do bring it I forget to take it out of my purse. Yep, this summer has not been well documented with photographs. I chalk it up to being pregnant and grouchy. Anyway, here are a few pictures of some things we've been doing.

We said goodbye to Eric and Tami as they moved away from Utah. I wished I could say we were a big help as we were there while we were loading their moving truck but mostly I think we were in the way. We are sad they aren't so close anymore but happy that they are liking their new place!

Chloe just being funny one morning. Jillian got this microphone from Uncle Keith and Aunt Lori and Chloe walks around the house playing the little songs it sings. Right now I think it is hidden because I don't think I can hear the Dora song another time. She sure does love to play with it though.

Apparently she didn't want her picture taken.

These two are either best friends or are making one another cry. I guess that's how it is with sisters.

Ready for church. Luckily I have to cute girls to hide my large belly.

I don't know what kind of face this is but she kept asking me to take her picture.

Eric and Tami with the girls on a horse and cart ride at our Porter Family reunion. Believe it or not this is the only picture I took at the reunion. We had a great time visiting with family and playing around. Jillian took a horseback ride for the first time (all by herself).

Sean and the girls just hanging out, watching some tv.

We've also played with friends, went to the 4th of July parade, gone to the park, fed the ducks, and lots of other things I didn't take pictures of. We are excited to hang out with my sister and her boys soon as they just moved near us! Jillian loves her cousins. She talks about them all the time. We have some more fun summer things planned so hopefully I remember the camera!

Pictures from Washington

2011-06-22T09:05:00.005-06:00

Rose and Jillian after watching Cinderella. The kids all loved Rosemary in her costume.

Jillian was smitten with Prince Charming.

Jillian showing off one of two slivers she got at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Drinking a green smoothie.

Playing in the bouncy house at Anna's birthday party. Everyone got in on the action.

Sleeping Cousins? Nah. It could never happen!

Bloggety Blog

2011-06-21T14:39:00.004-06:00

Do I even blog anymore? I don't know what is wrong. It's not like I haven't had plenty to blog about. Trip to WA, Rosemary's play, Rosemary's graduation, playing with cousins, hanging out with Sean's and my families...Sadly I didn't take many pictures of our adventures because usually someone else had a better camera that took better pictures (and I had my hands full of kids). Anyway, I vow to do better.

Right now we are involved in potty training ( let me just say, I do not have the patience for this kind of thing. Can you send your kid to potty training school?). Anyway, after cleaning pee off the floor for the dozenth time today I put Jillian back in a diaper. Yep, I'm failing miserably at this. Good thing tomorrow is a new day.

Catch up

2011-05-09T18:14:00.002-06:00

Just a few pictures of what we've been doing lately.

Chloe climbed into the dress-up clothes box and naturally, started dressing up!

Sean and Chloe hamming it up for the camera.

Big boxes make fun toys.

These are the girls' Easter dresses. I took this yesterday on Mother's Day. Not the greatest picture but it's the only one we got with them in their matching dresses.

The Mother's Day cake I made myself. This is what happens when your dear spouse has have to have gluten-free cake.

Baby News

2011-04-24T16:25:00.003-06:00

I had my 20-week ultrasound last week and

The doctor said he looked perfect!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T15:42:00.003-06:00

We had a ward Easter Breakfast yesterday so we did Easter baskets once we got home from that. This is just proof that Chloe is walking around by herself. Don't mind the stuff all over the floor.

Jillian was very excited to find sidewalk chalk and bubbles in her basket. These are two activities she's been begging to do for the last month. Too bad it's too cold still to go outside and do them!

Always with the tongue out, Jillian is showing off her new bubbles.

Chloe wants to check out what is inside her basket as well.

More bubbles!

Chloe had the basket up and down off the couch. I think she found that more fun than seeing what was inside.

Jillian is in a phase where she won't look at the camera when I tell her to smile. She smiles (sometimes) but I can't get her to look at me when I take a picture!

It was cold and cloudy outside so we tested out the bubbles inside.

Chloe wasn't sure what to think of the bubbles but has since decided they are fun to play with.

Last night before bed. Jillian asked me to take this picture so she was actually cooperative and looked at the camera.

And like the forgetful pregnant woman that I am, I neglected to get pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses. They were cute and matching and Jillian looked like Shirley Temple with her curly hair. I wasn't the only one to think so, someone at church said it too. This morning Jillian was looking for a hat to wear to church which I thought was pretty funny since she hasn't worn a hat in years. I think it is because we recently tried on hats at the store and she must have thought we actually bought one for her. Maybe next year.

I'm still alive!

2011-04-11T20:29:00.003-06:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since I've posted. Oops! I don't know where the time goes or how it gets away from me but it does. I don't think I've taken any pictures for a month so I'll get cracking on that. I'll have more to blog about next week (lots of doctor appointments for all plus a 20-week ultrasound to report on).

Sunday

2011-03-09T20:15:00.002-07:00

On Sunday we were ready for church early (rarely happens now that we have 9am meetings). Jillian said to me, "Take my picture!" So I did. This was her happy face.

This was her serious face.

And I'm not sure what face this was.

For dinner that night we had spaghetti and Chloe thoroughly enjoyed it.

And Jillian decided she would be happy once again.

Three-Year-Old Sayings

2011-03-02T16:08:00.002-07:00

Jillian is a great source of entertainment. Here are a few things she's said lately:

When talking about Disney Princesses, she refers to Aurora as Sleeping Nudie.

Jillian loves to play Pat-a-cake with Chloe. These are the words according to Jillian:
"Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake baker's man
Bake me a cake as fast as you can
Pat it and roll it and mark it with a "b"
And throw a baby at me!"

She also recently realized that when we talk about having another baby that it means there is one in my tummy. She repeatedly asks me to open my tummy so she can see it. She's also very insistent that it is NOT a boy. Hopefully she won't be too disappointed if it is. She also wants to call it Butterfly.

Say Cheese!

2011-02-28T13:21:00.001-07:00

New camera=taking pictures of my family! Chloe was so tired she fell asleep on Sean's shoulder. Funny girl!

Bow Swap

2011-02-28T13:14:00.002-07:00

We finally got a new camera so I can post some things we've been up to that I've caught pictures of. I am in a bow swapping group where we each make 9 hair bows and then swap with one another. So I made these bows:

And came home with these (plus the one that I made): I left the one I made off and one more because the gal had put them in a baggie and so I didn't remember to clip it to the ribbon before I took the picture. We have a good time swapping and it's fun to see what others come up with. The pink one on bottom is a crocheted headband (and yes, she did 9!).

Baby Baby Baby

2011-02-21T14:50:00.003-07:00

In my head, you are going to read this and then shake your head and say, "Oh my! What are those Gallands thinking?" Don't worry if you do because that is exactly what goes through my head at least a couple times a day. Sean and I are excited to announce that we are expecting baby #3 on September 5th. That is also Labor Day, which I thought was an appropriate day to expect a baby. I had my first ultrasound a few weeks ago to determine my due date and the doctor kept telling me what a photogenic baby I had. Then she said (about the baby), "What a cute gummy bear!" And really, she's right. Then someone else said it looked like a marshmallow. Poor kid is already being compared to sugary treats! I'll let you decide for yourself:

I already have my 20 week ultrasound scheduled so we won't know the sex of the baby until sometime in mid April. I'm not posting pictures of my belly because I'm not one of those women who grow a tiny basketball under their shirt. I get huge everywhere and just look like I've had too many cheeseburgers. I'm finally past the nauseated-all-the-time phase and now am in the hungry-all-the-time phase. I'm still tired all the time too but hopefully that will pass soon. Now the problem is, where are we going to put another kid in our two-bedroom apartment? At least we have 6 months to worry about that!

Am I Invisible?

2011-02-17T10:09:00.002-07:00

So I got a haircut a couple weeks ago. First one in a year. Yeah, I know... Anyway, I cut off about 6-8 inches and only one person noticed! Really? One person?

I mean, 8 inches is a lot of hair and no one noticed? This makes me want to do something crazy and see if people notice. Maybe next time.

Potty Trained?

2011-02-09T18:55:00.002-07:00

Let me preface this story with this: I have been trying to potty train Jillian for a long time and I have been quite unsuccessful.

Tonight right before I gave Chloe a bath I put her on the potty just to see what she would do. She can't even walk yet so I have no delusions that she'll be potty trained before Jillian but she sat on the little potty really good and when I lifted her up to put her in the bath I saw something in the potty. That's right, my 14 month old can do what my 3-year old can't (or rather, refuses) to do! She pees in the potty. I even had a witness. Sean was there and we laughed told Jillian she'd have to be the baby now because Chloe is the big girl. Jilly didn't really think that was funny at all. She still insists that she's the big girl. Regardless, this is one story we will have to torture her with for the rest of her life.

January going ons

2011-01-26T19:49:00.005-07:00

I know I haven't been blogging much this month but I hate blogging without a cute picture of my girls and I am still camera-less so I put off blogging even though there is actually some news to share.

We went into the nutritionist last week (two weeks ago? I can't remember now) and Chloe is done with the feeding tube. She still doesn't drink quite enough but she was overweight for her height so they said she can be done and to keep working with her to get to drinking enough. She is also done with occupational therapy! Yay! We've been pretty excited about this. She is going back to the nutritionist next month so they can make sure she is doing ok. Life has been great without the tube! I felt like we were living life around that thing and now that it is gone we are all much happier!

It feels like January has been flying by and dragging on all at the same time. Sean and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on the 24th (really we celebrated on the Friday before). I can't believe we've been married for 7 years. Sometimes I can't believe it has only been 7 years. I think this is the most recent picture of the two of us together from June of last year. It seems like one of us is always behind the camera.

Now that January is about over, I am ready for SPRING! Bring it on! Too bad I still have a couple months to go! The 3 or 4 inches of snow that fell yesterday reminded me of this.

Kitchen Help

2011-01-17T19:40:00.004-07:00

I have a good helper who likes to sweep the kitchen. Too bad I have to go over what she has done later!

3-Year Well Check

2011-01-11T20:55:00.005-07:00

Jilly had her well check on Monday. Here are her stats:

She is in the 50% for length at 37 inches tall.

She is in the 80% for weight at 32.85lbs. My paper says she's 72% but I think the nurse wrote it wrong because the doctor specifically told me 80% and that they don't worry about kids being too fat until they are in the 85th percentile...(Heather, does your doctor give you talks about your chubby boys???:P)

She passed her hearing test and eye exam. She talked the doctor's ear off the entire time we were there. The only bad thing was we found out she had an ear infection! This is the second one in the family in a month...what is going on?!? Jilly's on an antibiotic for that so hopefully it'll clear right up. Other than that things are great, she got a couple shots because they changed one of her immunizations so she needed the booster and she cried hard until she got her sucker then she was good to go (although, she did inform me all day long that her leg still hurt).

For your viewing pleasure, a funny video of Jillian on her birthday:

Jillian's 3rd Birthday

2011-01-11T20:31:00.004-07:00

Jillian turned three last Wednesday so here we are celebrating. She wanted a Princess Presto cake (from Super Why) and this was I came up with. Sorry it is so hard to see. The screen on our camera broke so we can still take pictures but can't tell what they look like until we get them downloaded on the computer. My other option was the cell phone which takes decent pictures but has no flash so you get what you get on this post.

Chloe really enjoyed her cake!

A Dora backpack.

"I'm the map, I'm the map..."

Jilly had a fun birthday. I think 3 is going to be a great age!

P.S. Grandma Galland: Jillian did open up her Wall-E toy and loved it. There are no pictures because I hid it so well before Christmas I forgot all about it until the day after her birthday! But she was very excited to get it. Thanks!

Jilly's Birthday in WA

2011-01-08T15:13:00.004-07:00

We let Jilly open her birthday gifts from her grandparents while she was in Washington so they could watch her open her gifts. Heather and her boys were there for New Year's Day so we opened gifts while they were there.

Dress up shoes!

Grandma Porter made Jillian some dress up clothes. She can be a butterfly:

Or a kitty cat:

We also got to celebrate with Grandma Galland.

Jillian loves her Tinkerbell chair and doll and her new piggy bank. I think she likes the noise it makes when she drops a coin into it.We are glad to have an excuse to celebrate after Christmas is all over!

Christmas at the Kelleys

2011-01-08T15:09:00.003-07:00

I got zero pictures of the girls opening gifts from Grandma Galland and Chris, Alyssa, and Anna. Jillian got a dishes set and a movie and Chloe got bead maze and a movie. I did get some pictures of Anna and Jillian playing in Anna's playhouse.

The girls had a fun time playing with Anna and we had a good visit and Christmas dinner with the Kelleys and Grandma.

Christmas at the Porters

2011-01-08T14:20:00.005-07:00

I know I'm a month behind in blogging. I am going to blame it on my camera breaking and not getting it fixed or replacing it. We have had to depend on the photo taking of others this Christmas. This means way less pictures.Christmas MorningJillian opening her gift from Santa.A Toy Story 3 Barbie!9

Chloe opening her gift.And I apparently didn't take a picture of it but it was a drum set.

The girls had fun opening gifts and then it was on to the Kelley's house for Christmas with the Galland family.

Christmas Lights

2010-12-11T08:08:00.005-07:00

We decided that this would be the week to go look at lights. The weather has been warmer so it's been nice to drive around without a ton of snow in the way. Our first light show was at our local city park. They do a bunch of fun light up characters. You can drive around or get out and walk. Since it was raining we decided to stay in the car. A big elephant.

Dragons.

A mermaid and other sea creatures.

A moose.

I think we'll have to go back on a night that isn't raining/snowing so we can get out of the car and look at all the lights.

Our next adventure was to take the train to Salt Lake City and look at the lights on Temple Square.

Waiting for the train to come.

Jillian riding the train. She has her ticket in her hand.

Chloe enjoying the train ride.

The Nativity scene.

There are a lot more lights around the square, I just didn't take any pictures of them. I think we were too busy enjoying the view. Jillian had a great time riding the train and I was so glad we could go see the lights. Sean and I have been meaning to since we moved to Utah and this is the first year we actually did (it only took 5 years!).

Check-Up

2010-12-07T11:07:00.004-07:00

Chloe had her 1 year check up yesterday. It went a little like this:

Chloe weighed in at 18lbs 3 oz which is what she weighed last week (we are still getting weighed every week). This puts her in the 8th percentile.
Chloe is 27 inches long which puts her in the 4th percentile.
Chloe's head circumference is 44cm which puts her in the 20th percentile.

Our wonderful pediatrician was very pleased with Chloe's progress. She told me Chloe looked healthy and robust (bet most kids in the 8th percentile don't get told that!). She said her head looks great and that her helmet did its job. In fact, the doctor said this was the best she's ever seen her head.

We talked about placing the G-tube and I told the doctor we wanted to wait until the end of January to pursue it because Chloe started drinking from a cup last week! Yay! She doesn't drink much but she will do it so we are going to work really hard to get her taking her liquids from a cup so we don't have to switch to a G-tube. We can use the NG-tube (which is what we have now) until the end of January so we've got a little wiggle room and I am hoping she will just decide one day that drinking is fun and will be fed up with the tube (heaven knows I am!!!). On the flip side, Chloe loves to eat and is a really good eater so who knows why she can't/won't drink. She has the doctor and her occupational therapist totally stumped. Good thing I think it's funny that we can stump all these medical professionals, otherwise I would be stressed out about it!

Chloe is a little slower developmentally, about a month or so behind. Nothing major, she's just a late bloomer (just like her dad...love you Sean!). At first it worried me because Jillian was a quick developer but I've learned to relax a little bit. I know what you're thinking, "Holly relaxed?" It's ok, sometimes I impress myself too.

What else did we talk about? We take more time than we are allotted when we have a doctor's visit for Chloe so we were there an hour or more. We upped her overnights feeds so she's getting enough liquid. The doctor asked if Chloe laughs and smiles because she was so serious at her appointment. I think Chloe gets annoyed getting poked and prodded. She knows doctor's offices aren't the place to laugh! Oh, and the poor thing had to get 5 shots so she was grouchy yesterday and again today. I guess I'd be grouchy too if I got poked 5 times.

Chloe has come a long way in a year. She still has some work to do before we're in the clear so wish us luck and send lots of prayers our way. We'll need them! Probably me more than Chloe, she's one tough cookie!

Parade

2010-12-03T11:29:00.003-07:00

A few Saturdays ago my good friend, Melissa, called me up and said, "I'm in Layton, come to a parade!" so I packed the girls up and off we went. Waiting for the parade to start.

Before the lighting of the tree:

After the lighting of the tree:

Yeah, I can't tell a difference either.

Melissa looking so cute and Jillian looking a little confused.

While the parade was a little lame (and over in 10 minutes), we had a good time visiting with Melissa.

P.S. The parade was to celebrate the new freeway entrance completion and Melissa was working and had to be there. I think I want a job that pays me to go to parades...

Chloe's 1st Birthday

2010-12-02T20:28:00.004-07:00

I can't believe my little Chloe is a whole year old! This has been on crazy year with three hospital stays and dozens of other doctor appointments! This girl sure taught me a lot about medicine this year. Good thing we love her so much! Hanging out this morning in her jammies.
Self portrait of me and Chloe.

Her birthday girl shirt from Aunt Alyssa.

I wanted to do something different for Chloe's birthday cake. I saw some cute cake pops on bakerella.com that I wanted to try. She mentions that cake balls are a little bit easier on newbies so I decided to try those out first. Promise not to laugh at how they turned out:

Not a pretty sight but I think I can do better next time. I've got some things figured out so I'm planning on trying these again and hopefully they will be more attractive. Good looking or not, they sure tasted good!

Chloe playing with her new mailbox. Jillian took over most of Chloe's new toys. I guess that's what I can expect. Good to know with Christmas coming up!

Blowing out the candle. I figured Chloe wouldn't be able to manage a cake ball so she got an actual slice of cake.

She dug right in!

"Yum!"

Messy girl.

Unwrapping gifts.

Soft, cuddly friends.

Jilly giving a hand (of course!).

Chloe with all her loot! Chloe had a good day and loved all of her gifts! Thanks to those who sent her gifts and birthday wishes!

Therapy

2010-11-15T10:24:00.004-07:00

Chloe finished her helmet wearing on November 2nd and on November 3rd we started going to occupational therapy. It is unrelated to the helmet but it sure seems like we are always going to some doctor for dear Chloe. Chloe is seeing a speech therapist to help her learn how to drink. Sounds kinda funny, I know but she has a lazy latch and a weak suck which is partly the reason she needs to be on the feeding tube. Basically she is not getting enough liquids. We have her calorie intake under control with the tube feedings and her being able to eat more and more foods as time goes on but she will not drink from a bottle or cup.

While we are at therapy we take different kinds of foods and drinks and see what Chloe will tolerate. She gets to practice her tongue movement with a Slim Jim beef stick (which she loves!). She also gets to try different ways to drink, like with a straw, with a spoon, with different types of sippy cups, and regular cups. So far she's not great at the drinking. The therapist thinks Chloe might be aspirating the liquid. Right now we are using a thickening agent in any liquid she gets and that seems to help.

That is our current adventure with Chloe. I'm starting to dread the end of each of our adventures because it seems like there is always a new one right around the corner to take its place.

Jillian's Underwater Adventure

2010-11-02T17:02:00.003-06:00

Last week Chloe had an appointment at Primary Children's Medical Center at the nutrition clinic. The appointment was fairly unremarkable, pretty much they said keep doing what we are doing regarding her tube feedings. I had both girls with me at that appointment and Jillian was fascinated with the water feature at the entrance of the hospital. If you have never seen the entrance there is a few inches of water surrounding the sidewalk and if you are not careful you'll step right in the water. The edge of the water was decorated with pumpkins that kids had painted for Halloween. Jillian was so interested in the pennies people had thrown into the water and I told her, "Just look at the pennies. They are not to be touched. If you try to get one out you will get wet," as we walked into the hospital.

After the appointment Jillian wanted to look at the water so we stopped on our way to the car. I warned her again about getting to close and so she was sitting on the bench nearby and looked at the pumpkins. Sean had called while we were in our appointment and since I have no cell service in the hospital I called him back to see what he wanted. While we were talking about some bills that we didn't have to pay (you gotta love it when you get medical bills and when you call to pay them they tell you that you don't actually owe them anything) I noticed Jilly looking at the pennies in the water again. I told her not to get in the water and continued my conversation with Sean. The next thing I know I hear a SPLASH and there goes my Jilly, on all fours, in the water. Since there is less water than what I put in her bathtub I know she is not drowning so I quickly yell to Sean, "Gotta go, Jilly's in the water!" and grab her out of the fountain. She was drenched! That day wasn't particularly warm so I was trying to figure out if she was going to freeze or not. We walked to the car and I was debating whether or not to yell or laugh. I didn't do either because I was too mad to laugh and it was partially my fault for letting her get to close to the water in the first place.

We got back to the car and I stripped her down to her diaper and put her in the car. Luckily she had a blanket in the car and I turned the heater up so she wouldn't be too cold. She fell asleep on the way home and I carried her into the apartment in just her diaper. I'm sure the neighbors thought I was a great mom carting my 2-year-old around in just her diaper in 50 degree weather. Later when I questioned her about falling into the fountain she told me she was just trying to get a penny to put in her piggy bank. Of course!

We went back to PCMC today for another appointment for Chloe and so we discussed (about a dozen times) not getting into the water. I am happy to report today's visit to the hospital was void of any fountain swims. Also, Chloe is done with her helmet!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T10:09:00.003-06:00

Despite the pouring rain last night, Sean and I (and my parents and Rosemary) took the kids to the ward's Trunk or Treat. We snapped a couple shots before we left.

Jillian is a butterfly, Chloe is a ladybug (and I did not get a good picture of her with the wings I made so I'll have to take a picture to post later), Sean is a bug catcher and I am a flower.

This is what it looked like last night. A sea of umbrellas and wet kids. Most kids were covered up so they wouldn't get wet which made it hard to tell what they were dressed up as.

The sun poked out for a minute (but it didn't stop raining!) and I got this beautiful double rainbow!

Jilly was soaked! She didn't seem to mind though. We all came home and had soup to warm ourselves up!

Talk to me?

2010-10-22T16:31:00.003-06:00

Maybe Chloe will be a drummer instead of a public speaker.

Tutus

2010-10-21T20:45:00.004-06:00

A little preview of the girls' Halloween costumes:

No, they're not Russian ballerinas. You'll have to wait until next week to find out what they are!

By the way, can you tell that I have a bunch of girls at my house?

Funny Girls

2010-10-21T20:42:00.000-06:00

Playing

2010-10-21T20:36:00.002-06:00

Jillian is pretty good about playing on her own. One day I caught her playing and had to look closer to what she was playing with.Star Wars toys? She must be her father's daughter! She even knew that the toys would be fighting and made appropriate sounds. Sean is so proud!

I LOVE Caller ID

2010-10-21T20:33:00.001-06:00

Nothing like announcing your intentions in your Caller ID.

Poor Picked On Dad

2010-10-21T20:30:00.001-06:00

Sometimes it is rough to be a Dad!

Those are some nice genes

2010-10-13T14:14:00.004-06:00

Today we took Chloe to the geneticist. I was actually a little unsure why we were going but knew that Chloe's pediatrician really wanted us to see a genetic doctor. They took lots of pictures while we were there and did lots of measurements and asked lots of questions about our family tree (one of my favorites was, "Are the two of you related" [meaning Sean and me]). The doctor said he was hesitant to make a diagnosis because Chloe is cognitively on track so he said, "Come back in a year." This is something we hear from specialists a lot. He said he was going to research her a little more but that if she was developing normally there was no reason to get any genetics tests done (they do an MRI of the brain first and then chromosome testing which is pretty spendy). We said, "Sounds good," and off we went back to our normal lives. They did ask us to bring some pictures in of our families so if you are an immediate family member the doctor has your picture and he's planning on studying it!

Helmet Update

2010-10-06T10:55:00.003-06:00

"Darth Vader wears a helmet just like Chloe!" Jillian said to me one morning. Where she comes up with this stuff, I have no idea.

Yesterday Chloe had another helmet scan and her head had only grown 2mm (last month her head had grown 15mm). The helmet guy said this is the age that head growth slows way down. Her head is looking so good that we get to take off the helmet during the day and only have to wear it for nap and bedtime!!! Wahoo! Chloe seems pretty excited to be helmet free a good chunk of the day and her eyes aren't as watery which I'm sure is related (I'm just not sure why). One more month of partial day wear and then we should be done with the helmet!

2010-10-06T10:10:00.002-06:00

Just a Cheerio-eatin'-curler-wearing Sunday Morning.

Picture Catch Up

2010-10-02T15:20:00.002-06:00

Just a few pictures I've had on my camera:

Whoa! A dangerous place to lay down, Jilly!

Birthday Party Weekend

2010-10-02T11:48:00.002-06:00

Sean and I turned 30 last weekend. Here are some birthday party pictures. Sean got me this cute purse. Good Job Sean!

Jillian was so excited to open presents so I copied her face. Of course, Sean took a picture of me being crazy.

Jillian models my new bag.

Blowing out the candles on my cake (which was gluten free and delicious). Funny cake story: I was trying to make a torte (a layered cake with cream filling). The cake crumbled as I took it out of the pan but I figured I could make it work. So as I was layering it, the cake started sliding apart. I hurried and finished and got it frosted and decided it needed some stabilization. All that I had that would work were some straws. So I stuck the cake full of straws. It worked out ok and we decided to stick candles in the straws so they'd be even more useful!

The inside of the cake. Not the prettiest thing but very good. Also, Eric and Tami came to help me celebrate and you can see Tami holding Jillian (we didn't get any pictures of them unless you count the fuzzy ones Jillian tried to take but they were there).

Monday was Sean's birthday.

He got a Kindle eReader which he loves. He has all kinds of weird books on there but soon I will have to borrow it and put some good books on it. ;)

Jilly had to check out the Kindle. Look at how slim it is!

Sean is in love!

My mom sent me a card saying I was officially grown up now (not sure what I was the last 10 years or so). I don't feel more grown up but I do feel old!

Is it time to eat?

2010-10-02T11:24:00.005-06:00

I have been a lazy blogger lately. That is because my day goes something like this:

Somewhere between 2 and 6am- Jillian wakes up and comes into my room to crawl into bed with us. Sometimes I let her, sometimes I send her back to bed. It depends what time it is and how much fight I have in me.
7-8am Chloe gets up. I nurse her, take care of her tube, change her diaper, etc. Get Jillian breakfast.
8:30am Feed Chloe cereal and some fruit.
9am Wash Chloe's hair and helmet. Let helmet and hair dry. Get Chloe dressed
9:30am Realize I haven't had breakfast yet. Drink a green smoothie.
10:00am Put helmet back on Chloe, put her down for a nap. Take a shower. Get ready for the day, play with Jillian and get her dressed.
11:30am Chloe wakes up, nurse her. Get lunch ready.
12:30pm Feed Chloe baby food.
1pm Put Jillian down for a nap. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't. Play with Chloe
2:30 Put Chloe down for a nap, if I'm lucky both girls will sleep at the same same time for an hour or two. Most days I'm not so lucky.
By 3-4pm both girls are awake. Have a snack. Pray for Sean to come home soon because by this time Jillian is driving me crazy.
4pm Nurse Chloe
4:30pm Start dinner
5:30-6pm Eat dinner, feed Chloe. Remember I have a spouse. Talk to him in between Jillian yelling, "Mom, talk to me!"
6pm Do dishes
6:30pm Make formula to go into the feeding pump for Chloe.
7-7:30pm Place tube. This can take 5 to 30 minutes. Chloe is sometimes cooperative, sometimes not.
7:30pm Nurse Chloe
8pm Put Chloe to bed. Attempt to put Jillian to bed. This usually fails. Give up and let her sit by me while I play on the computer for a few minutes.
8:30pm Attempt to put Jillian to bed. Success! At least for 5 minutes. She's up and down until 9-9:30.
10pm Pump
10:30-11pm Go to bed.
2am Start all over again.

Does it seem like I am always feeding someone? Because that's what it feels like to me. And this is why I don't get much blogging in these days. I will be happy when Miss Chloe can drink from a cup because then hopefully we can get rid of the tube! She refuses to drink formula (which I can't really blame her, that stuff is nasty compared to breast milk) and I can't pump enough to replace what she's getting at night. I know that the helmet and tube are just short term fixes but sometimes it feels like my day revolves around taking care of medical stuff. I'm not meaning to complain but I wanted to document what my days are like so when I'm done I can be thankful that this was just a short crazy time in my life!

Funny Things Jilly Says

2010-09-20T11:27:00.002-06:00

Jillian says some pretty funny things. Here are a few I remember.

She calls Darth Vader-Darth Mater (I think she's confusing Mater from Cars with the Star Wars character).

When something is pretty it is gutiful (gorgeous/beautiful) or cuteable (cute/adorable).

When I try to get Chloe to say "Mama" or "Dada" Jilly chimes in and says, "Say Jillian!"

When she tries to spell Chloe's name it goes like this, "E...L...O...P...H...I." When she spells her name it goes like this, "H...I...L...P...H...I." The letters aren't always in this order but there is always a p and an h in anything she spells.

She's always saying something funny. I usually forget before I write it down.

Chloe is 9 months!

2010-09-10T10:50:00.003-06:00

I took Chloe into the doctor for her 9 month well check on Tuesday. Here are her stats:

25.55 inches which is in the 3rd percentile for length

16 lbs 2.5 oz which is in the 8th percentile for weight

42.5 cm which is in the 11th percentile for head circumference

Don't let those small percentiles fool you. Chloe is doing fabulous. I think you'll remember that she was very small at her last check-up (hm...I just looked and I never posted her stats and I'm too lazy to go look them up but trust me she was small. Less than 0 percentile for weight and I think 3rd percentile for height).

Chloe has gained 4+lbs in just 8 weeks. That is amazing! The doctor was really pleased with her progress. She's going to continue on the feeding tube and we will continue to go in for weekly weigh-ins.

Sean and I were commenting on how small Chloe's head looks compared to her body but apparently we are crazy because her head is the biggest part of her proportionally! I think it's because she's wearing the helmet all the time and when we take it off her head looks small without it! The orthotic specialist adjusted her helmet this week as well and she's gained 15mm in head circumference in just 6 weeks. Apparently that is a huge amount of growth in a short period. Her head is rounding out nicely, there are still some spots we want to fill out so we continue on with helmet wearing.

I also had the doctor test Jillian for celiac disease while we were there. Her results came back normal however, Sean's GI doc told us that kids come back with false negative results a lot. We are doing a mostly gluten-free diet for me, Chloe, and Jillian (and a completely gluten-free diet for Sean) so I wanted to get her tested before we cut gluten from our diet. We are supposed to get Chloe retested at her birthday and then both girls every three years if results continue to come back negative.

Paging Dr. Jillian

2010-09-09T09:35:00.004-06:00

This has been Jillian's favorite game ever since she got her blood drawn on Tuesday.

Cow

2010-09-03T21:20:00.002-06:00

August

2010-08-27T12:46:00.007-06:00

I am a bad blogger this month! On a related note, where did this month go? Anyway, here is what we have been up to the last little bit.

Chloe is still on the feeding tube every night. The first time they delivered her formula I had to laugh because it was all boxed up with paper work and had a pharmacy label on it. At least insurance will pay for it since it is medically necessary!

Very official looking formula! I especially love the line at the bottom that says that this drug is intended for the patient only.

The other day I let Chloe play with the wipes box while I ran to throw a diaper away. She usually likes to drum on the top with her hands. I had no idea she knew how to open the box and pull out the wipes! So I did what any good mother does, grab the camera, of course!Jillian's new thing is to ask me to tie her blanket around her and she walks around the house pretending she's getting married. She's even dug out some silk flowers for her bouquet. I asked her who she was marrying and she has a variety of answers but the most common is that she's marrying her Aunt Tami. I did tell her that Tami is already married to Uncle Eric. So then she says she's going to get married like Tami. I told Jilly that this would work much better!Another exciting thing for Jillian is she's finally moved into a big girl bed! We moved both girls into her room and it's worked out pretty well so far. Nap time has been interesting because I can't get them to nap at the same time or for the same amount of time so someone is always waking the other up but night time is going well!Jilly on her new bed. She was so excited for Tinkerbell bedding.

And just in case you wondered: These two just adore each other!

Helmet

2010-08-05T20:00:00.004-06:00

Last week Sean and I took Chloe in to get fitted for her helmet. I was ready for the messy process of casting. Much to my surprise the place we went to uses this fancy machine: They just put her in the machine, Sean held her there, and in about 30 seconds scanned her head to make a 3-D model. They trimmed up her image on the computer so that her feeding tube (which she was wearing while she was scanned) and her hair were not skewing the results and sent it off to Florida where they make the helmets. Then 10 days later we went back in to pick up the helmet. Oh, and we got to pick a cute pattern for the helmet which I was excited about.

Chloe trying it out for the first time.

She doesn't mind the helmet too much but we're still working our way to wearing it all day and night. In a couple days we'll be up to wearing it 23 hours a day.

She is so cute! Also, Chloe has gained one pound in a week! We are excited that the night feeds are working. She is looking a little pudgy these days and is getting heavy to carry around. That's what we like! She is up to 14 lbs 3 oz and is 25 inches long.

Long post about Chloe

2010-07-29T21:55:00.010-06:00

This post is long overdue but we've been a little preoccupied with other things, but I'll get to that later.

I took Chloe to Primary Children's Medical Center on Thursday to be admitted so they could try to figure out why she wasn't gaining weight. Since her pediatrician called the night before all we had to do is say we were there and I walked up to her room (which coincidentally was one room over from where she was in March when she had RSV) and away they went with all the tests and measurements. Easiest hospital admission I've ever done! As you can see below we had a fun time trying to keep Chloe tangle-free with her many cords. She rolled this way and that and we finally had to pad the sides of the crib because she kept bonking her head on the rails.

Chloe had lots of toys to play with while we were there. And the doctors, nurses, and med students loved her so she had lots of admirers. We did a lot of tests, none too invasive and the craziest one we even documented with pictures.

Chloe had a chloride sweat test to test for cystic fibrosis which I knew she didn't have (she doesn't have any symptoms) but the doctors wanted to check to make sure so we humored them. For this test, they hooked her up to a machine to stimulate her sweat glands and then collected her sweat to test the chloride levels in it. Kinda funny really. The nurse running the test told us they've been doing this particular test this way for a long time (like decades).

This is her hooked up to the machine stimulating her glands.

Another view of the same:

The machine she was hooked up too. Looks scary. Sean was joking that we were going to shock her.

This is after the gland stimulation. They wrapped a little square piece of gauze around her arm in plastic...

...and then wrapped it with a second piece of plastic...

...and then it got wrapped with some cute bumblebee coban and then hot packed. Then she got wrapped in about 5 blankets and the thermostat got turned up to 80 and she had to stay like that for 30 minutes. This was all on a 95 degree day. I told them they should have just taken her outside!

Anyway, it turns out that all we found out is that Chloe isn't getting enough calories during the day (which we already knew...) so they decided to put a feeding tube in at night and she'll be getting a third of her daily calories in her sleep.

I still think she's super cute, even with a tube coming out of her nose.

Playing with some fun toys. She had a great time at the hospital this time. Lots of toys and attention, she was set!

I caught her sleeping on all these cords. I have no idea how she found this comfy but she did!

I learned how to put the tube in and just as they were discharging us I started feeling nauseated. I tried to hold it together but lucky me, I somehow caught the stomach flu at the hospital. So after throwing up a few times, I packed up my kiddo and hauled us home so I could be sick in the comfort of my own home. That night a home health nurse came and taught me how us the feeding pump at home and she told my doctor that I was amazing (glad I could impress even when I could barely function in between bouts of being sick). So we put the tube in every night before bed and let her eat in her sleep. She did gain about a half a pound while we were in the hospital and her pediatrician was thrilled about that. We have lots of follow up appointments from now until the end of the year but I'm glad that she's making some progress.

Chloe also got fitted for her helmet on Monday and I was set to take lots of pictures of the casting process but the place we went was so high tech they just put the kid's head in a machine and 30 seconds (or less) later they had a 3-D scan of her head. No mess, no fuss. My kind of appointment! They'll have to scan her head a few more times throughout the reshaping process so next time I'll be more prepared and take a picture!

Oh, and Jillian got the stomach bug that I brought home and finally stopped throwing up this afternoon so that's my excuse for not getting this post up sooner. She kept running around and this would cause her to be sick but she wouldn't just lie down and rest, and she kept begging for food. Two-year-olds!

I think I need a vacation.

Hanging at the Hospital

2010-07-23T21:09:00.002-06:00

Chloe is at the hospital again. This time we are trying to figure out why she isn't gaining any weight. She's been a good baby and everyone here loves her. I hear multiple times a day how cute she is (not that I ever get sick of hearing that!). I wanted to post some pictures of some of the tests she's had to take but Blogger is not letting me upload more than one so here is the one I got to load and the rest will have to wait for another time!

Some pictures from the last week

2010-07-18T20:05:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday after church Jillian wanted me to take her picture. So I took about 20 and this was the only one that she actually looked at me and smiled for:

Then this week she wanted pictures again. I am a mean Mom and said, "Nope." It was hot outside!

Jilly looked at me and said, "Mom, I'm an elephant!" And what do ya know, she actually looked like one!

Chloe is finally getting really good at sitting. She loves to sit and play with her toys!

This video cracks me up. I took another one that was pretty funny but it is really long. She was trying so hard to get the Cheerio before I started filming her and then when I turned the camera on she was very distracted by the camera. Funny kid!

Visitors

2010-07-09T09:58:00.007-06:00

We had a lot of fun last week when Sean's Mom, sister, and niece came to visit for the 4th of July. We spent some time at the pool, something we don't do much even though we have access to the apartment's pool all the time.

Alyssa holding Anna, Laurie, Sean and Jillian. Chloe and I sat out and took pictures of the swimmers.

On Saturday we went to the zoo. Jillian was so excited to see the giraffes, even before we really saw any animals. I didn't know she knew that giraffes lived at the zoo. She also kept calling it the "zoom" which I thought was utterly adorable.

Looking at the wild turkeys.

Chloe spent most the day in her stroller, covered up so she wouldn't get sunburned. She was a trooper.

Passing the Primate building.

Jillian was scared of the orangutan but my niece, Anna, loved him.

Miss Anna in her cute sunhat.

Getting a drink.

Looking at the big cats. It was hot out so they were all in their shade taking naps. Not so exciting to look at.

Jillian did not want to sit on this cat to get a picture. And then we put Anna on in front of her and she was not having any of that.

Yay! We finally found the giraffes.

Anna was waving to the giraffes. They were a big hit with everyone!

Chloe and me taking a break from the stroller.

Mama elephant and baby Zuri. Zuri is almost a year old and weighs 400 lbs. Wish she could loan my baby some of that weight...

Chloe chilling in her stroller while everyone else went into the small animal building.

Riding the train with Dad.

We all loved the train.

The girls hanging out at home. They had a lot of fun playing together!

On Monday we went to the Independence Day parade.

Waiting for the parade to start.

Jillian was not a fan of the sirens at the beginning of the parade. She hung onto Grandma really tight.

We had such a good time while everyone was here! Thanks for coming!

I'm Back!

2010-06-30T21:22:00.003-06:00

I am blogging this post from my brand new computer! Yay! Now we have to get the other one functioning enough to get all my info off of it. *Sigh* Technology!

Anyway, on to some pictures!!!

My beautiful baby at Eric and Tami's wedding. Sean and Chloe

Eric and Tami with my little family

This is what I like to call "The Birth Control Picture." The nieces and nephews were not being very cooperative!

And finally, little Chloe after her blood draw this week. I teased her that she looked like Michael Jackson but that was before they bandaged up both hands. I think she looks like a boxer in this picture. She was a good sport. Good thing she's so easy going!

Busy and Broken

2010-06-28T21:32:00.003-06:00

We've been busy with my brother's wedding stuff and then hanging out in WA for the last couple weeks so I haven't posted. And now with my computer down I don't know when I'll get to post the pictures I took. I'm still here but just not able to blog!

Poor Chloe

2010-06-28T21:19:00.004-06:00

No pictures today because my computer is down.

Chloe had her 6 month well-check today. Let's just say it didn't go real well. She's still small so the doctor wanted to draw some blood to see if we can figure out why she's not growing. A bunch of people tried to find a vein and couldn't. One assistant even went digging around for one in Chloe's arm and still didn't come up with anything (Chloe was a good sport, thankfully). They sent us to the hospital to get the NICU people to draw some blood which was fine but for some reason the order was not at the hospital when we got there and since it was after 5pm the doctor's office was closed so we just went home. Needless to say, I was pretty annoyed. I guess we'll try again tomorrow. Also, we are being referred to a bunch of other doctors for various things for Chloe (honestly, we went through so much at this appointment that I really don't remember the details, good thing the doctor's office is making all the arrangements).

*Sigh* It's been a long day. It is no fun when your kids are medically needy.

Some of my favorite people

2010-06-03T14:44:00.000-06:00

I love these three!

Springtime!

2010-06-02T15:19:00.004-06:00

We have been spending a lot of time out in the evenings since it's finally been so nice (read: above 60 degrees). Some pictures of our outings:

We are so glad it is finally warm enough to spend some time outside.

6 months

2010-06-02T14:52:00.002-06:00

My little Chloe is 6 months old today. I can't believe it! We've had a rough 6 months with this little girl, but I am happy to report that she has graduated from physical therapy and is doing well otherwise. I believe she's still underweight but she refuses to eat solids so we just try every few days and hope one of these times she'll decide to eat what I put into her mouth instead of spit it out and make a face. Chloe is so good natured and loves to play with toys and her sister. Here is hoping that the next 6 months are much better for her!

Taking Glen to the MTC

2010-05-19T20:49:00.002-06:00

I took Glen to the MTC today. My parents put him on a plane really early this morning and I picked him up and took him to Provo.

Glen getting his luggage.

Jillian checking out Glen's suitcase to make sure it's ok.

We had lunch before we had to drop Glen off. I wanted to get a good picture with him and my girls but this was as good as we got.

At the MTC.

One last picture before he went inside.

I think it was totally unfair that I was the only family member actually there to drop him off. I'm the crier in the family and so what happened when I hugged him goodbye? Waterworks! I held it together until he walked away but sheesh, what is it about becoming a parent and instantly crying all the time? I'm not a fan!

We LOVE Glen and know he'll be a GREAT missionary!

Storytime with Jilly and Chloe

2010-05-06T12:13:00.002-06:00

4 months

2010-04-20T14:46:00.003-06:00

Chloe had her four month well check yesterday. Here are her stats:

Height: 24 inches which is in the 20th percentile

Weight: 11lbs 5.5oz which is in the 4th percentile

Head circumference: 39 cm which puts her in the 3rd percentile

The doctor said she was concerned because her weight was tapering off so she told us to start rice cereal. This is her first taste of the cereal:

She didn't love it, she didn't hate it but she did throw it up in the middle of the night. I think it came up as a reaction to her immunizations as it was 6 hours after she ate. We'll try it again soon.

Chloe is also going to physical therapy because she has torticollis and plagiocephaly which are big words for a head tilt and a misshapen head. We are learning lots of different positions and stretches that we can do at home so we won't have to get a helmet. Her condition is moderate but everyone is hopeful that we can get her to be able to move her head properly and that her head will grow symmetrically. We've already seen some progress in since we started going 2 weeks ago.

That's our Chloe. Always something going on with her. Next week we are going to the cardiologist. She has to have a sedated EKG. We are really looking forward to that (to be read sarcastically).

Eric is all growed up and graduating from college

2010-04-13T21:38:00.005-06:00

Sean, the girls, and I went to Rexburg last weekend to celebrate Eric's graduation from BYU-Idaho. There were lots of pictures taken but we showed up late to events and had to leave early (the life of a nursing mother) so I never got in any of the pictures. Finally right when we were heading back home I whipped out my camera and had my mom take a couple pictures just to prove I was there.Eric is going to graduate school at BYU this fall (my alma mater) so of course I had to get him in the school spirit with a 'Y' t-shirt.This would be me pretending to be Eric's graduation cap. I thought it would be funny...obviously it just looks like we are big dorks!

Chloe with Grandpa Porter. I think she knows she's headed for a long car ride. You can see it in her face.

Congratulations Eric!

Easter 2010

2010-04-13T21:26:00.002-06:00

The Easter Bunny found the girls last week. He brought them dolls and some candy. Jilly checking out the candy.
Jilly's doll purrs and Chloe's cheeps. Oh, and they are scented. Dolls have come a long way since I was a kid.
Eating the ears of the chocolate bunny.

I saw these gummies at the store and thought they were so cute! I get what a bunny and a chick have to do with Easter but what's with the owl, squirrel, and porcupine (hedgehog?)...? Still, they were so adorable I couldn't resist...although I should have. Jilly ate one and spit it out after a couple chomps. I tasted one just too see what was so bad (I don't trust the taste buds of a two-year-old) and they were icky. They were like eating rubber. No taste and too chewy. I made my brother, Glen, taste them and he asked if they were supposed to be edible. HA! Good thing they're cute because they're still sitting on my counter!

I realize I didn't get any pictures of Chloe. She just wasn't much into the Easter scene;)

Catching up

2010-04-04T17:31:00.005-06:00

It has been awhile since I posted. We've had a busy month what with starting out March at the hospital and then doctor visits every week until Chloe got off the oxygen. This month is looking about the same with various appointments (all for Chloe) and visits from my parents and trips to see Eric graduate from BYU-I. Whew! I need a break already!

We did get to play a bit a couple weeks ago. Jillian's friend Aubrey turned three and we went to Chuck E Cheese's to celebrate. I got to catch up with a childhood friend I hadn't seen in 7 or 8 years (Aubrey's aunt Crystal). We had a great time! I love hanging out with old friends!Sean also got his wisdom teeth out in March. Here he is after surgery hanging out with Chloe.Since it was General Conference this Sunday, we had the girls wear their Easter dresses last week. I didn't get a great picture of them but that is pretty typical!

Hope everyone had a great Easter!

I love this age!

2010-03-17T15:21:00.003-06:00

I love the 3-month-old age. Finally, the kiddo does something other than eat, sleep, and poop (although there is still plenty of that going on!). Now I get smiles and coos and responses to playtime. I love it! Hanging out with the nasal cannula and facial stickers. Have I mentioned Chloe's new nickname is Stickers?

A friend a church has been telling me that I could put a ponytail in this girl's hair ever since she was brand new. So today when Jillian was demanding that I put an elastic in Chloe's hair I figured that I might as well. It's a little lopsided but let's see you try to put a good looking pony in a baby's hair!

I don't know what kind of face she's making but it's pretty hilarious!

So cute!

Wiggle Worm

2010-03-17T15:05:00.002-06:00

Fun with Chloe

2010-03-09T21:42:00.005-07:00

Sean playing peek-a-boo with Chloe in the hospital. Once she was feeling better she started smiling and laughing (something she wasn't doing at home!).

Trying on a hat Chloe got from the hospital. It was made and donated by a 9-year-old girl (she underestimated the size of a baby's head and Chloe has a small head...).

Hanging out with Dad at home. Check out those cute stickers that she gets to wear on her cheeks!

Well Baby Check

2010-03-09T21:22:00.003-07:00

Chloe had her two month well check today (I know, she's already three months but this was the earliest we could get her into the pediatrician that I like!). Here are her statistics:

22.24 inches long which puts her in the 8th percentile
10 lbs 8 oz which puts her in the 13th percentile
37 cm for head circumference which is actually in the 0 percentile (not even on the chart)

The doctor was not concerned about her small stats as Chloe has recently been in the hospital and so is hopeful she will catch up soon.

We talked about her heart murmur and since she's still congested from the RSV the doctor referred us to a pediatric cardiologist so we will be making a trip back to Primary Children's to find out what we should do about that in a few weeks. We also are going to take Chloe to physical therapy because she has a flat spot on her head and our pediatrician thinks we can catch any potential problems with this early if we get Chloe some PT. As for the RSV, Chloe is still on oxygen and we will be weaning her off slowly over the next week or so. It is kind of a pain but I would rather do it this way than have to go back to the hospital! Going to the doctor with this kid is always an adventure!!!

P.S. Sorry, no picture with this post! Blogger isn't letting me upload one.

Ok Mom, don't cry...

2010-03-05T13:57:00.003-07:00

Chloe is looking good today. She's on 0.12 liters of oxygen (whatever that means, all I know is it's pretty low). She got the feeding tube out this afternoon so we just have to get the snot under control and get off oxygen and we can go home!

And look Mom, Chloe is happy to be here so there is no need to cry!

Chloe is at the hospital

2010-03-01T17:22:00.002-07:00

Chloe has RSV and is at Primary Children's Hospital. She's looking pretty good today and is more active than she has been in a few days.

Snot Sucker

2010-02-24T21:42:00.003-07:00

This is the nasal aspirator the hospital sends you home with when you have a new baby:

This is the nasal aspirator the doctor sends you home with when your kid has RSV. I like to think of it as the mother of all aspirators: Chloe's nasal passages have never been so clear! Too bad she still can't breath...

Glen's Mission Call

2010-02-14T20:49:00.005-07:00

On Saturday we went to Provo to be with my brother Glen when he opened his mission call. He got his call in the mail on Thursday but waited so we and my other brother Eric could be there when he opened it. Starting to open the call. We had my parents and two sisters on speaker phone on three of our cell phones so they could "be there" as well.

Typical Glen face. He is making sure he won't read ahead to see where he is going.

Reading his call.

Sean commenting that he hopes Glen doesn't get called to Boise, ID.

This picture is funny because Rosemary, who was on the phone, had to ask three times where he was going. There were a lot of other people at Glen's apartment and everyone laughed everytime she said, "Wait, where are you going?" Sorry Rose! It was very entertaining.

Eric and Tami. Eric is on the phone with Rosemary before we made fun of her.

Glen was called to the Colorado Denver North Mission, English speaking. He leaves for the MTC May 19th. His mission covers Northern Colorado and parts of Wyoming and Nebraska.

Uncle Glen and my girls.

Me, Glen holding Chloe, Tami, and Eric holding Jillian. Sean took the picture.

Good luck Glen! You'll be a wonderful missionary! We are so proud of you!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Train Ride

2010-02-12T21:48:00.004-07:00

Today was UTA's (Utah Transit Authority) ride for free day so we hopped on the Frontrunner (the commuter train that goes from Ogden to Salt Lake City) after dinner. It was Jilly, Chloe, and my first ride on the Frontrunner, Sean used to take it when he worked in Salt Lake and so he was our tour guide on our adventure. Sean and Jilly waiting for the train.

On the train. Jilly did really well! She was well behaved and sat on my lap which is quite unlike her. There were quite a few screaming kids so I was glad I had a well behaved one.

The train was packed on the way to SLC so we sat in a seat and Sean was far away standing at the door with the bulky stroller. What a sport!

Jilly on her "leash" (hey, you try herding a baby and an adventurous 2-year old).

Looking out the door. Sean said we really should have gone during the day but you know, it is winter and Sean doesn't get off work until it is dark out. Maybe next time.

Jilly is squishing my lips together but luckily you can't really see the incredible dorky face I'm making.

Chloe just chilled in her stroller the whole trip. I love that about babies. Put them in something that moves and they are happy campers.

We tried and tried to get Jilly to look at the camera. She definitely has a mind of her own!

We had a lot of fun and Jillian loved the train. She wasn't a big fan of the loud noise it made so all the way home she called it the "scary train" but I knew better, she loved it!

I feel 10 lbs lighter!

2010-02-09T11:18:00.003-07:00

I forget why I don't wear my hair long until it gets long. When it is longer it is always in my way and when I have a newborn it gets pulled an awful lot. I hate wearing it up so I don't know why I have been keeping it long. Probably because I didn't have the time/money/energy to go get it cut. Plus it was getting yucky because the last time I got it cut I told the stylist to trim off enough to get rid of the dead ends and she trimmed about a half inch off when it needed an inch or more. I left the salon with as many split ends as I went in with. Finally on Saturday I escaped for a few minutes and got about 6 inches chopped off.

Ah! So much better!

Playtime

2010-02-09T11:13:00.002-07:00

I was letting Chloe play with the glow worm one day and realized I had coincidentally dressed her in an outfit that was opposite of the worm's.

I love this picture. She looks like she is either having a grand time or she's prepping for a scream.

All Sprawled Out

2010-02-09T11:11:00.000-07:00

Animal Sounds

2010-02-05T14:49:00.002-07:00

Playing Around

2010-02-05T14:29:00.001-07:00

Pics

2010-01-27T15:55:00.002-07:00

Pictures of Chloe I took this week (Jillian is in one too). Chloe is 8 weeks old today.

Chloe Speaks

2010-01-27T15:16:00.003-07:00

Chloe has found her voice.

Photo Op

2010-01-23T12:57:00.003-07:00

It is really hard to get a decent picture with my girls.

Sometimes the photographer thinks it is funny to take a picture before you're ready:

And sometimes you can't get the kiddos placed in the right spot:And even when you think things are going your way, your two-year old won't take her fingers out of her mouth: Oh well, we tried!