Kinley turns 1!!!

My baby is 1! Oh so many feelings!! I swear it was yesterday we were driving to the hospital to FINALLY meet this baby. I remember the day like it was yesterday and it was hands down, one of the best, most special days I've ever lived.

A week or so ago, I had done my own little photoshoot. I tried to somewhat mimic a couple ideas I had seen on pinterest. It was SO much fun! All but the cake. haha. If you know me, you know I DO NOT bake, or really even cook. I am horrible at it. The cake was a nightmare but I HAD to make something work because I had nothing else. Next time, I will happily order one haha. Besides the cake, and Kinley messing up my backdrop a million times throughout the shoot, It turned out good! I feel like I got some good pictures and I am so happy I have them. There were tons of pictures, but here is just a few of my favorites. 

For Kinley's actual birthday, we kept it very simple. I originally was going to have a small get together with family. With her birthday being the day after Thanksgiving, most family was seeing other family and was just busy. So, we kept it just the 3 of us and I'm glad we did. I had decorated the kitchen and then we gave Kinley her present that afternoon. She LOVES it. She plays with it all the time! It was such a fun day spent with just my little family. I had cried off and on throughout the entire week just because it's so bittersweet! I know I am not the only mom out there that does haha

Both her and Libbie loved the balloons. Libbie ended up popping I think like 10 of those things haha

Me and Caleb got her this princess scooter

Clearly she loves it :)

Can't NOT have a family picture on such a big day!!

Happy 1st birthday to my sweet and special girl. It has been a whirlwind of a year. Thanks for teaching me patience, for being my little sidekick, for forcing me to somewhat enjoy mornings, and everything else in between. I never knew I could survive on so little sleep for 12 months straight, would have to change SO many blowouts, deal with so much worry and stress, have so much fun, be happier than ever, or have my heart exploding with love for this sweet babe. Oh how she has changed our lives. It's been a year full of adventures and we are excited for many, many more years to come. Happy 1st birthday my Kinner bug. We love you more than you will EVER know. 

Epilepsy update and a few randoms

We got Kinley's blood work back and her medication levels were a bit low. So we just had to up her dose again. That's usually what we end up doing. Because we upped it, it usually makes her kinda drowsy for a while till it gets in her system. Pretty sure it's her medication that has her sleep all over the chart. But since upping her dose this last week, she has napped for longer but some nights have been a little harder. It really just depends on the day. 3 times in the last week, she fell asleep in the middle of playing. First time she's ever done that and is SO not like her. So, I think she just feels kinda funny with the increased dose. From what they say and what I've read on her medication, the main side effect is basically a hungover feeling. So until the dose gets in her system she just is a little off. Otherwise she is doing great! We go down to Salt Lake in a week (if the weather holds out..fingers crossed) for another checkup.

1st time

2nd

3rd. And this time she had a trail of crackers behind her. haha fell asleep mid cracker eating. Bless her heart.

Here's some pictures that show the other randoms

We put up our Christmas tree a little while ago. I love having it up before Thanksgiving. 

Just being cute

She loves her baths

My little bear

Her bedhead is something else. haha I love it.

Thanksgiving

Last year we spent Thanksgiving in the hospital because we had just had a baby! It was fun to reflect on the holiday and remember the special little details that occurred. I remember it was snowing, cold, and we were brought up a pretty good thanksgiving meal. I also remember getting really sick from some pain medication and I didn't eat like half my meal because I was super nauseous. haha. I do remember feeling a very special feeling that day. It was just me, Caleb, and our brand new 1 day old baby girl and the room was just us, quiet, and just a special feeling. We were so grateful to have Kinley there safe and healthy.

This year, we spent Thanksgiving at my parents house. It was a good day and the food was amazing. I seriously have SO so much to be thankful for. My family is hands down #1. There is nothing more precious to me than my family. I am also grateful for our home. We finally have a home that fits my little family and it has been such a blessing to us. Then all the other things. Things like food on my table, clothes, my bed, a warm home, Caleb's job, my sister who is my best friend, all other family on both sides, alllll those things I am truly grateful for. But, there's one thing that has especially come to me this year more than ever, and that is that I am thankful for medicine, doctors, nurses, hospitals, people spending years to get an education in any medical field, promptings of the spirit, and health insurance. I feel confident that if the spirit had not led me and that doctors were not here to help us, that our Kinley would not be here today. I am grateful that Primary Children's hospital is close enough that we were and are able to get the help needed for Kinley. I am grateful the the tenderness and sympathy that a lot of the nurses had toward my baby. I am THANKFUL that Kinley is still here today. Happy Thanksgiving!

Kinley's birthday was the day after thanksgiving so we opened her gift from my parents while everyone was out.

She loves it! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Big Juds Owner

As of November 1st, Caleb is now officially the proud new owner of Big Juds!!! Part owner I should say, but still an owner!

I could not be more excited and proud of him. It's crazy to look back and think that Caleb started working there when he was 12. I started working there when I was 14. That's the place where we really started to get to know each other and basically fell in love. We worked together for years before I finally, and sadly quit to go work in a salon. And I miss it! Working there had some of the best times and it's just fun to be able to now say that it's ours. It's kind of a fun story to tell our kids when they're older that that is the place that our lives began. Both me and Caleb look back to the early years of our marriage and think it's crazy. Caleb has ALWAYS wanted to own a restaurant. He tried going to school so he could eventually one day own one. Well, that didn't work out, so he tried to switch routes. Nothing was working or going as planned. After different try's and routes with school, he decided to just focus on the job he had which then led him to where he's at now. I am one that feels like everything happens for a reason. So all those sucky years of what seemed like nothing working out, now all makes sense. Caleb has his restaurant, and that is SUCH a blessing! We feel extremely blessed, grateful, lucky, and are happy that our future with careers is really starting to finally take place. He's got some big goals to meet over the years and we can't wait! So proud of my husband and we are excited for this next step and journey!

The epilepsy time clock

Kinley is on a 2 year epilepsy clock. She has to be completely seizure free for 2 years before they decide to ween her off her any meds, stop having the every 3 month or more appointments, ect. She had been seizure free since the end of April. She had some seizure activity is what they call it, a couple different times in the past. It't not where she goes into her full blown seizures, but it's still where the brain is misfiring and seizure activity happens. The other day, I was on my way home from town and Kinley was sleeping. When I got home, I woke her up and got her out of her car seat. She was totally normal, but then she did this weird thing where her head and left arm just shook for a bit really fast. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether it's just a weird twitch that babies do, or if it is considered seizure activity. With Kinley being an epileptic, we are to consider any odd behavior seizure activity. It actually doesn't surprise me that she did it. Mainly because her medication goes off weight and she for sure has had quite a growth spurt and has put on some weight since her last appointment and blood draw where they check her medication levels. So, I called her Neurologist and mentioned to them what happened and to see what they wanted to do. They called back and wanted another medication level check. So when we have to do them here, we just go to EIRMC and have it done there. We did that yesterday. It was horrible. I honestly have not been impressed in the slightest with their lab. She got an old hag that was just kind of rude, not gentle at all, and kept telling us we needed to hold her down better so she could get the vein. She had been poking for a while and there was already me holding her the best I could, another nurse, and Caleb holding her down while the lady tried to get blood. A lady had come by  to try and help with a hand frog puppet and stuffed bear which I was thankful for, but then the hag that was drawing her blood told her to leave because Kinley was still kicking and moving too much. I don't know. She was just not patient and rude. A couple good pokes  and some prauding later and she finally got it.

We now just wait for the results which I'm sure will just be another dosage change. The part that stinks is that since she had seizure activity, the 2 year epilepsy clock starts over. Anytime it starts over, I just think of future appointments and blood draws. It's always been hard, but as Kinley gets older, remembers more and knows more of her surroundings, it's getting even harder. And she's getting a lot stronger and hard to hold down. So, I'm sure when she is 2 and almost 3 years old, that will be super fun. Lots of traveling in the future. We have to go back down to Salt Lake for another appointment in a few weeks. We are hopeful that this is still something that she grows out of, but it very well may not and may be something we deal with for the rest of her life. We take it as it comes, and deal with things little by little. I'm just grateful that we have the help for it. Kinley is a tough little thing! Don't worry, we came home, I fed her mac n cheese, then peaches and ice cream for dessert, then snuggled before bed for extra long. All of her favorite things. Love this baby. <3

Caleb's Birthday

Happy 27th birthday to my husband!! His birthday was on Sunday the 6th so we kept it low key. I gave him his present that morning, then I made his favorite dinner--lasagna, green beans and garlic bread, then instead of cake, he wanted pumpkin pie.

Happy birthday love. I love and cherish you so, so much! 

Warm River, 70 lbs, sleepless nights, and Halloween

A couple weeks ago my family took an afternoon drive up to Warm Springs to feed the fish.

And here's a bunch of pictures, mostly of Kinley of course...

This girl and her bed head. Usually on the top of her head haha

Standing to lots of things

Let it begin....

Getting ready for the day is a huge chore in itself. There's no napping with this girl so I just make the best of it and roll with it. If making a HUGE mess allows me to get ready then whatever. haha she is constantly flipping the toilet paper roll so there's a huge pile on the floor, pulls out all my hair products, and gets into every drawer she can. Ya do what ya gotta do.

She is standing ALL the time and puts her hands up like this. haha She won't take any steps but I'm sure it won't be too long before she does and starts walking.

Down about 70 pounds! The weight loss is still going. It's slow and steady which I am happy with. I lose about 2 to 3 pounds a month. Sometimes I plateau and won't lose a pound for like 3 ish weeks but then It'll start coming off again. I've already been super happy with my results. My biggest thing I'd like now is to just tone up. I'm still watching my portions, and do my little workouts here and there. I'm tempted to toss the leftover halloween candy just so it doesn't tempt me. haha. Overall, I couldn't be more happy with my results. It's so nice to feel like I fit into clothes and do things I would have never done before.  

Another 2:30 am drive. I had 2 of those this last week and one of them didn't work after driving around for 30 min. This girl and her sleep is KILLLLING me. I thought maybe it was getting better but who was I kidding. She had a better like 2 nights then went back to her old ways waking up about 3-4 times a night, and each time taking anywhere from 30 min- 2.5 HOURS to get her back to sleep. Usually it takes at least an hour though. I sometimes get 45 min of sleep increments, or sometimes I'll get lucky and get a 3 hour stretch. I feel like I see a lot of the hours each night and it often feels like I've only slept for a couple hours combined even though it's 4 am. I've spent soooo many hours rocking in the chair in her room. People keep telling me to enjoy the rocking and although I do, I still would love to get some sleep. And when you are that tired, you're more frustrated than anything so it's hard to just fully enjoy the moment. Where Kinley is getting so much older, she doesn't really just sit and rock either. It is mostly a constant battle of wrestling her the ENTIRE time. She flips and turns and nurses and what feels like drains each side, then flips some more and climbs on me. It doesn't end. Her naps haven't gotten any better either. The other day she only slept for 10 min in14 hours. She fought me all day with not taking a nap. We're pretty much down to for sure only 1 nap a day and it's usually about 30 min. I've come to terms that this baby will just be one that does not sleep. I hope in future kids that they don't follow her footsteps. haha It's been exhausting but somehow you just learn to live with it and keep on keepin on during each day. I am praying that one of these days she will just start sleeping through the night! Fingers crossed.

Halloween weekend was a lot of fun. It's so much more fun with kids! I love knowing that each year will probably just get even better as Kinley gets older. We started it out by carving pumpkins with all my family on Saturday night. We do it in my dads shop and it always ends with a pumpkin seed flipping war haha. 

I am honestly the worst carver haha. Mine's the cat, Caleb's is the face, Kinley's is the little face.

Everyone's pumpkins lit up.

Ended the night with stories from grandpa.

For the day of Halloween, it was pretty much any other day. I cleaned the house and ended up last minute going grocery shopping because we needed more halloween candy. That night we handed out candy to trick or treaters. We didn't know what to expect since this is the 1st year being in this house. Previous years we never got any. But this year we got lots! I'm glad I ended up getting more candy because I would have ran out for sure. It was fun seeing all the cute kids dressed up and be so excited about trick or treating. This year, for the past week or so I had been making Kinley's costume. It was so easy, cheap, and turned out darling!

Our little Perdita dalmatian dog!