You have got to be kidding.....

As many of you know I got the okay to give Bella rice cereal. I was so excited to begin this new chapter of Bella's life. Her GI doctor was saying that she is doing so good and how pleased he is about her progress. Just when you think life starts to get a little easier you get pulled right back in. I started to notice that Bella's spit up was getting worse since starting the rice cereal ( please note that I was only giving her the "babies first feeding" which is thin enough for her to drink out of her bottle). I thought, " well Stephanie, just give her a couple of says to get use to it, then her body will be used to the cereal and stop the extra spitting up. Well things were not getting better. Today I noticed that her "stools" were really hard and BAM then it hit. Constipation followed by extreme crying and screaming every time she was trying to have a stool. Why is this whole situation seeming so familiar? O yeah, before we found out about Bella's allergy to breast milk this is how she acted for 3 weeks. AHHHHHH. All I could think about today was "you have got to be kidding me, not again". My poor Bella can never catch a break. So I called her doctor ... again ( I am starting to feel like family now), and he said to take her off the rice cereal until the next time we go in. Seriously?..... Seriously!!!! The only thing that keeps on going through my mind is " if she can't even handle rice cereal... what CAN she handle? Rice is the most gentle food out there. I still can not believe this. I feel like we are at square one again. 2 steps forward 1 step back. I hated seeing my poor Bella in so much pain. Not to mention how hard this is on Sydney. All she keeps on asking is "what is the matter with Bella" and "is her tummy sick again?".

 Okay I feel a little better now that I have that off my chest. I just feel so bad for my little Bella-boo. I have no idea how her life is going to be, or how hard it is going to be. Mommies should know how to make boo-boo's better. We kiss away the pain, we scare away the monsters from the closet. And here I am feeling like I have no idea what I am doing and have no idea how to make it better. I guess only time will tell.

David and Erin

So over the weekend my cousin David and his family Erin and Lylah were able to come to my parents house while on their way to Erin's parents house in Denver. It was so much fun to see them. Their sweet little girl Lylah is getting so big and so beautiful. And even better news Erin is pregnant with a boy and will be due at the end of October. I swear that she is the cutest pregnant women I have seen. We are so excited to be so close to Erin while David is away getting things set up for them ( going from the Air Force to the Navy). It was a great weekend and Sydney just loved playing with Lylah as well. It was great seeing you all and I am even more happy when their little boy come to this world. Congrat's you guys!!!!!

5 months old

I can not believe that my little Bella is already 5 months old. Where has the time gone? Well I do have some idea. This summer has been filled with Bella and her doctors appointments and tests. Seriously I had a doctors appointment every other week and even had 3 appointments within 6 days... crazy I know. Unfortunately none of these tests or appointments have been in Woodland Park, all of them expect 1 ( which was in Denver) were in the springs. Do not think that I am complaining, I am not, I am just saying if some of you have felt neglected like my poor blog this is the reason why. Bella is fine by the way ( well fine for Bella at lease). Most of the tests had to do with her GI doctor, she just has a incredibly sensitive tummy. She got put on this formula Alimentum which was $25 a can. Which did help her but did not do everything. She still has really bad acid reflux which is still causing her pain so this is the main reason why she has had so many tests done. Her doctor took her off of the Alimentum formula and put her on even more Hypoallergenic formula Neocate which is ......get ready.......$40 a can. AHHHHHH a living nightmare  I tell you. Unfortunately I can not complain the formula is working, her spit up is getting so much better and so is her pain. As many of you are wondering we do not qualify for WIC, and our insurance will not pay for it as well. So out of the kindness of the doctors heart he always gives us 2-3 cans of formula every time we come it. Such a saint However, Bella is such a happy baby. She smiles all the time and talks even more ( she has more of my personality ). She weighs now 13 lbs 11 oz. She is a smaller baby but doing really well compared to all her health problems. A big development is that her GI doctor gave her the okay to try rice cereal. Since her tummy is so sensitive we have to take things extremely slow with her. She is not quite sure what she thinks of the rice cereal but it seems to be helping  her spit up.  Bella is the happiest baby in the mornings.. I love it. I look into her bassinet in the mornings and she is there kicking, smiling and talking like crazy. How could some one not be happy when they see that. We love our little Bella so much and are so happy to have her in our family.

Ward campout

A couple of weeks ago my parents were having their ward campout. And since our ward did not have one this year the girls and I went with my family to have some camping fun. Quinton had to work that night so it was the perfect weekend for us to head out. Sydney had so much fun being with her cousins and having a great time. Both of the girls did absolutely amazing the entire time and slept through the night ( like they do every night). My brother and his family came as well. All we were missing was Quinton and my sister and her family and it would of been a family reunion. I am so glad that we were able to go camping at lease once this summer before winter sets in.

The girls snuggling with grandpa in the morning

Bella is always happy... O how I love that smile

Grandma with some of the grandkids

All of us

1st Day of Preschool

September 7th was a big day in our house. Why you ask? Sydney had her 1st day of preschool. She was so excited to go to school like a big girl. She only goes 2 times a week for 3 hours but she loves it!!! Naturally she was nervous the 1st day but she loved that Quinton and I were there to cheer her on. She did so good, not even a single tear ( compared to some of the other kids there ) she just got really quite.... something she gets from Quinton. I am so proud of her and the big girl that she is becoming. One of the requirements for preschool was that they had to be potty trained. Well, we are about  95% there. I still have her wear her pull ups just in case but she goes potty all by herself. Such a big girl. We love you Sydney princess.

Sydney with her Dora the Explore backpack....so excited

Believe it or not this is a happy face for Sydney

                                               Sydney with her new teacher

Sydney's first hair cut

A couple of weeks ago Sydney had her first hair cut. Quinton actually has been trying to get her hair cut sooner, but I would not let him. Sydney has these beautiful baby curls and I was so afraid that they would go once she got her hair cut. Anyways, she still has her curls ( thank goodness), and she did amazing sitting still while quinton cut her hair. She loved that she got to go to Daddy's work and have some fun.

Getting ready for daddy

Quinton told her to look at herself in the mirror.... she had no problem with that

              So excited to get her hair done

Tender Moment

This is Quinton reading to Sydney at our old apartment on our last night there. She loves it when it is just Quinton and her reading books together. Sydney is such a daddy's girl, she loves her daddy so much. I will always cherish this picture of them together. It is incredible how fast our little ones grow up. Just today at breakfast she told us "I am 7 years old and man, I am getting old". It was so funny, then she asked how old both Quinton and I were then she said" wow that is old...". Thanks Sydney for all the laughs and tenders moments.... we love you princess.

We have moved!!!!

Yep, you all have read that right.  I have been bugging Quinton that we need to move to a bigger place for a while now. And about 2 weeks ago I found the perfect townhouse. So this meant that we had 1 1/2 weeks to move to our new place. Not an easy thing to do especially with 2 kids. But by some miracle we did it. So we went from a 700 sq ft to 1,000 sq ft. We still have 2 bedrooms but a lot more room. Quinton and I gave the girls the bigger room... it is huge. And they love all the extra space, well at lease Sydney loves all the extra space so far. We also now have a front and a backyard, 1 car garage, washer and dryer and the best thing of all...... A DISHWASHER!!!!! O how I have taken for granted a dishwasher. It is fabulous and I love our new home. Nothing is better. I will post pictures after we get the house all in order.

Happy Birthday Dad

Tomorrow is my dad's birthday. I know you shouldn't always brag, but, I have the best dad ever. He is the perfect example of a great dad. Without fail he has always been there for not only me, but my siblings and more importantly my mom. If we ever needed anything here comes dad to the rescue!!! As a child growing up he taught me important principles like how to respect others, how to love everyone no matter how imperfect they are, to see the best in everyone, how to manage money ( I am still working on that one), how to be responsible for your own actions, how to be the best person you can be, how there is nothing more important then the role of a mother and most importantly how to ski, camp and fish. Growing up my dad taught me how to ski ( with many patience mind you), I will always treasure those saturdays that it was just me and my dad. He would treat me like I was the most important person in his life that day, totally spoiling me with whatever I wanted ( most of the time it was pizza). Those moments I will treasure forever. There is nothing like a daddy daughter date. My dad was always there to remind me how beautiful I was inside and out ( even when I did not feel like it). I have the best dad ever and unfortunately I do not tell him enough. Thank you dad for EVERYTHING you do and have done. I could not of asked for a better dad then you. Thank you for all your little life lessons you taught me.... I was paying attention. I hope you have a great birthday and I love you forever and forever!!!

My parents holding me on my blessing day

My family with my dad's father and step mom

Piggyback ride anyone???

Me with my family at my baptism

Camping in Yellowstone

All of us way back when

My dad took me to guarantee catch a fish pond so I could finally catch a fish... it worked

My parents and I on Sydney's blessing day

Me and my parents

On my wedding day.. doesn't he look great in a tux!!!

                                                      My little family with my parents

Happy Birthday Quinton

July 12 Quinton turned the Big 31!!!! Even though he hates that he is getting older  we still celebrated. We went out to dinner with his family at Casa Grande ( I swear that he was born in the wrong country) then the next day had dinner at our friends house Justin and Tiffany. It was fabulous to have our family and friends there to help us celebrate Quinton. Sydney made a great book that she colored all by herself and I got him the first 2 seasons of LOST ( his is obsessed with "Lost"). Happy Birthday sweetheart, you are an amazing husband and father. I love how our little girls love you so much. You are my best friend and I can not wait to spend an eternity with you. Happy Birthday Quinton, I love you so much.

Wasn't he the cutest baby.. love the curls

He loves to fish

Fishing with his brother Ashley

Camping with little brother Colter

Quinton on his mission in Brasil

Quinton, his mom and brothers Ashley and Colter

All os us on his birthday

Reading to our little girls

The love of my life

Then...

                                                             and now

3 Months old

Where has all the time gone? I can not believe that Bella is already 3 months old. She is almost 11 lbs and is doing much better now that she is on her hypoallergenic formula. She loves to smile all the time, and is starting to try and grab things with her hands. And does she have a good grip, it is like a death grip personally. It is amazing how much of a difference there is when your child feels good. Pure bliss. I can not imagine our life without our little princess.

How could you not love this smile

Angel blue eyes

                                 One of the many faces of Bella

Our little girls

I took some pictures of the girls in their matching 4th of July outfits. Personally I think they look so cute. O how I love these girls.

Our little girls

Sydney doing her shy smile

Bella's beautiful smile

Sydney thought it would be funny to out a car on her head. I love Bella's facial expression

      We are still working on Sydney's "Pretty" smile