September, Part VII

These are just some random pictures. Kanyon fell in love with this rocking horse as we shopped in Quilted Bear one afternoon.

 That same afternoon, we stopped at the park and played for a little while.

 Kanyon has lost her appetite lately. Well, I should rephrase that....she eats, but its mostly fruit snacks or food off someone elses plate. I tried to make her hamburger look appetizing, as I cut the crust off it for her AND put a cute little umbrella in it. Didn't work. She didn't even take a bite of it.

 There she is with the infamous "fruit snack" in one hand and a "juice box" in the other. What she doesn't know is that the "juice box" is actually a drink filled with vitamins!! For once Kanyon, you weren't smarter than me! You did drink something that was good for you, and you LIKED IT!

 This picture was taken one morning before we walked to "school". She wanted to wear her "nocks" (which is what she calls her sunglasses) and show off her new backpack.

She calls sunglasses her "nocks" because she was always in the back seat when Daddy pulled the car over to the side of the road and pulled out his binoculars (to look for wildlife), which he shortened to 'binocks', to which Kanyon shortened it even more to just 'nocks'...now thats what she calls sunglasses.

September, Part VI

As we've talked about before, one of Jakes favorite things to do in the summer is watch his watermelon grow. We have quite a few of them growing this year. I told Kanyon she could pick any one of Daddy's watermelons and we would eat it. This is the one she chose.

It wasn't quite ripe yet, but she loved it anyway. She keeps asking me when we can go out and get another one. It will be soon.. and poor Kanyon, by the time we eat all the watermelons that are in the garden, she's going to be sick of them :)

September, Part V

Here is a LONG story about Kanyon and the week we had not so long ago...

So, one Friday night I could tell that Kanyon was having a hard time "pooping". It was a little worse on Saturday and by the time Sunday rolled around it was bad. Every time she'd get the "urge" she'd squat, cry, and say 'my butt hurt'. So, Sunday morning I gave her a suppository, hoping that it would do its job. It didn't work. So I called the pediatricians nurses station to ask for advice on what to do to help her. They said, that because of her age, it was better that the doctor see her. Well, because it was 4pm on a Sunday, her normal pediatrician wasn't working so we had to see a different doctor. We took her in and they felt her tummy and took an x-ray. The x-ray came back showing that she did have excessive stool in her intestines, but it also showed that her liver & her heart were enlarged. The doctor wanted to physically feel Kanyon's belly again because when she did it before the x-ray she couldn't feel an enlargement of the liver. She couldn't feel it on the second check either. At the moment, she told me to just concentrate on "getting Kanyon's poops out". In the meantime, she'd have the radiologist look at the x-ray and see what he thought about it. That night, Kanyon had an "accident" in the bath tub, but I think that really helped her. Monday went by without a call from the doctors office with the results of the x-ray. Most of Tuesday went by without a call from the doctors office. I ended up calling them and leaving a message with a nurse. About a half an hour later the radiology tech calls me. He says that the radiologist wrote in his report that the organs were large, however, they were still within the limits of being normal. I asked this tech kid what that meant...like do I need to have a dr continue looking at her or is she free to go about her life and not see a doctor again until her 3 yr old check up???? He said he didn't know and that he would run up and ask the doctor. He said that if the doctor wanted to see me again, she would call. Ok--I am not naive enough to believe that this doctor is really going to call ME...I just figure that we're done with this mess. Not the case. About 10 minutes later the actual doctor called me (I was shocked too!)...She said she would like to see Kanyon again. We made an appointment for the next day. We go in Wednesday and the doctor wants to get a new x-ray to see if things look different now that she isn't as constipated. Kanyon isn't as willing to go get an xray this time. Its quite a long hallway that you have to walk down and she won't let me carry her. So I try to talk her into getting closer to the x-ray room...and it works...until the very last corner. She quickly turned around and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her back to the same room her Granny and Ridge were waiting for her in. I of course, didn't catch up to here until she was in the room. Granny looks at me and says "That was quick". I had to explain that we haven't even done it yet. Its also always a thrill to try to get a 2 year old up on a cold table, to lay still, with her shirt pulled up. Needless to say, we had to bribe her with 4 lollipops! (3 of them were blue, and those who know me know how I feel about BLUE pops!) The results come back the same as before...and the doctor physically tried to feel the enlarged liver and can't feel it the second time either. So, she decides that its better to be safe than sorry, so she sends us to do blood work. They wanted to test all the normal stuff, plus her thyroid, & do a hepatitis panel. On top of that, she was going to get us a referral into a pediatric cardiologist. When she tells me that I am thinking 'what the heck is wrong with my little girl??' We then make our way up to the hospital to get the blood work done. While we were waiting at the lab, Kanyon saw the colored stretchy tape that they wrap around your arm after you give blood. She thought it was so cool & she wanted to play with it. By the time the nurses were ready to draw her blood, she had every one of her fingers covered with that tape. Jake's mom went into the room with Kanyon while I stayed in the waiting room with Ridge...that was the best place for me :)  After a few tears from Kanyon, a few tears from me, & taking 3 vials of blood from her little arm we were able to go home to await the results.

At 10:05 that NIGHT, I get a phone call from the doctors office. My heart sunk. I thought for sure it was going to be bad news...why else would they be calling me so late?!? The nurse told me that all of her blood work came back normal. (Except for the hepatitis panel, which we had to wait another 24 hrs to get). That was relieving, but I was still really worried about the hepatitis test. In the meantime, I decided I was going to call her regular pediatrician and get his opinion on all this. Was all this necessary? Or is this other doctor off her rocker??? We were able to get in to see our doctor on Friday. He was a little frustrated with the day he had been having, but seeing what we were going through frustrated him even more. He showed me her blood test results. Perfect. He had the results from the Hepatitis panel. Negative. He did all sorts of physical feeling on her abdomen. Nothing abnormal. He listened to her heart. No murmur. He listened to her lungs....he put the stethoscope to my ears so I could listen. "Do you hear that?" he asked me. I said yes. He says "Its wheezing. Probably from asthma that she gets from her Dad." He talks to me about the x-rays and the enlargement of her 2 most important organs. He tells me that it wasn't a pediatric radiologist who assessed the x-rays. He said that the radiologist probably didn't make her take a deep breath when he took the picture. Come on, how could he, she's only 2! So...if her lungs are deflated, the other organs look larger...hence, the "enlargement" of her heart & liver. So to make a long story end, she's fine.

September, Part IV

Kanyon has started a pre-pre-school. I know that she is only 2 and a half years old, but she loves to learn and play. And to be totally honest, I can use the 2.5 hr break on Tuesdays & Thursdays. So, the first day I took her to see Miss Annette, we curled her hair a little and when she got home she had a special treat waiting for her! She's a lucky little girl.

On the first day of pre-pre-school, they sang "The Wheels On The Bus"...and for her art time, they took cars & buses and put the wheels in finger paint and got to make the wheels go 'round & 'round on the paper. If you look close, you can see the tire tracks of all different size vehicles. They also had a "free for all" page that they could finger paint whatever they wanted. When Kanyon came home, she was so very excited that she got to paint with her FINGERS! Thats all she kept telling me!

Her Treat. A super pretty sugar cookie! BONUS: the flowers are rings!

September, Part III

Jake was home for Labor Day Weekend. He got home about 4:30am Saturday morning and by 11am we were on our way out the door. We were so glad to see him. We spent a little bit of time up at the cabin at Scofield Lake. It was a good relaxing weekend and it was great just spending it with family. It was a little chilly up there- here is a pic of Ridge in his camo suit, staying warm, with Grandpa Dennis.

So... Kanyon got a ....gun. I hate to even say that. But I will say, the first second she laid her eyes on that, she knew it was hers! There was a time that I had to explain to her that she can't touch it unless Grandpa was around to help her. She gave me the dirtiest little 2-year-old-look and said "I can, It's MINE!". Ugh, I am in so much trouble when she grows up. The gun is starting to be the least of my worries! haha. For all you worriers out there...the gun is always kept under lock and key and is NOT loaded. I trust that Jake and his Dad will teach Kanyon well when it comes to gun safety. I do feel that it will be a positive thing for her to be aware of what they are, how they work, and how they can hurt. That way, one day, if she is ever presented the situation, she knows what it is and won't make a fatal mistake figuring it out. In the meantime, she can learn about them with this cute, pink gun.

Jake and Kanyon pulled apart a little chicken wishbone. We were trying to teach Kanyon about them. It broke exactly even for both of them, with the middle part totally detaching from it all. I wasn't sure if that meant that they both get a wish, or neither of them. I told them they both did.

A cute Kanyon story:

The day that Jake had to go back to California, we went out to eat lunch before he headed back. As Jake was putting Kanyon back into her car seat, he was telling her that he had to leave to go to work and that he loved her and would see her soon. Kanyon looked at him and said "NO! Mommy go this time"...you can see where I rank on the charts :)

Then, when we got home it was nap time. Kanyon insisted that I put her PJ's on her. When I finally did she said "Now Daddy see me in the morning". I swear she thought that if she put her PJs on and went to bed, Daddy would be there to wake her up, just like I had told her 2 days before. She is such a sweet little girl and she loves her Daddy. We can't wait to see you again Jake!

September, Part II

Since the first time I saw the commercial for the "jean" diapers, I knew that I had to try them. I kept seeing them in the stores all summer, but I had such a supply of diapers, I knew I didn't need to waste money on these- since money was already tight, due to the layoff. So I didn't buy them....until now. September. Summer was running out! They were going to be discontinued! Would I always regret that I never tried them out on my baby!?? I couldn't take that chance, so I broke down and got them. They are soooo cute! I wish they made them in stripes & polka dots too, instead of dumb little Winnie the Pooh's and Elmo.

Here's a funny story about Kanyon....

One day, I had worn one of Jake's work gloves and used it as I cut poky artichoke plants out of the garden. When I came inside, I had to make a bottle for Ridge, so I just threw the dirty glove on the floor. For those of you who know Kanyon, she HATES messes! She came into the kitchen and pointed to the dirty glove on the floor and was disgusted with it. She pointed at it and said "Daddy make mess". So she picks it up between 2 fingers, like it has cooties, and opens the drawer to where the pot holders go and she shoves it in there and says that she "fixed" it.

Proud Kanyon for cleaning Dad's mess! We love you, you crazy little girl!

September, Part I

A year or so ago, my friend Lis purchased a house about 3 miles away from mine. It made me so happy. Lis is a girlfriend of mine from NY! We practically grew up together. Now we are living close to each other in UT and our daughters are playing together...kinda surreal. Now, even though they live down the street, we still don't see each other as often as we should. At the beginning of September, we finally got together and ate pizza, trashed the house, made s'mores, had girl talk, and did our Labor Day Sparklers- since we were too late for the 4th of July.

Here is Addy & Kanyon enjoying their S'mores. I will confess that they were made in the microwave since there is no MAN around the house to start a fire in the pit...

This was Kayon's first sparkler experience.

As usual, poor Ridge enjoyed from the sidelines...in his bumbo.

The Weekend

This past weekend I flew out to California to visit Jake for the first time since he's been out there working. I left Salt Lake City Friday night. After waiting out a slight thunderstorm, Delta got me safely to Oakland. I hadn't even been waiting at the airport for 5 minutes when he pulled up to pick me up. Perfect Timing. We had such a fabulous weekend.
We stopped and ate dinner in a town north of Napa called St. Helena. Cute little town. We ate at a Mexican Restaurant called Armadillos. Jake says he's eaten there with the guys and it was good. He knows how I LOVE Mexican food.

(Just so you know, I had to climb through a barbed wire fence to get these grape pictures)

Saturday night we had reservations to go to the Culinary Institute of America for dinner. It was a once in a lifetime experience. The food was absolutely to die for- only ever seen on TV by my eyes. I am so lucky to have a great husband who would share this with me. Below is a picture of the building.

So, we were in "wine country"...why not do a wine tasting session?? Well, we have a few reasons whey we shouldn't have, but when are we ever going to have this same experience again? They had a few different "sets" of wines you could choose from. We chose the "Flights of Fame". It seemed like a good sampling of local Californian wines. They called it "a snapshot of wines from the vintners who pioneered the Californian wine industry". They brought out 4 glasses and set them on a paper that described each one to you. It was an awesome experience to sip them and think about when the grapes were picked and how it happened so close to where we were at. Jake and I both decided that we would never become wine drinkers, but had a great time together finding that out.

California also produces supreme Olive Oils. So.. why not do an Olive Oil tasting too?? We did a "Super-Premium Olive Oil Tasting". It was amazing how these oils influenced the flavors of our food. On the left was one from the "Reserva Familiar Picual" in Spain. The middle one was from McEvoy Ranch in California. The one on the right was from "L'Olio Di Cosimo" in Italy. We were told to use these oils like we would you Salt & Pepper to season our dishes.

This was my appetizer: Crispy Soft Shell Crab with cherry tomato, corn & arugula salad, Ancho chile puree, & Chipotle aioli

Jake's appetizer: Watermelon & Watercress Salad with Ricotta Salata, pickled onions and a lime vinaigrette

My main course: Pan Seared Day Boat Scallops with sweet white corn, mushrooms, sugar snap peas and a basil pesto

Jake's main course: Crispy Skinned Wild Salmon with beets, baby fennel, King Trumpet mushrooms, and beurre rouge.

Dessert: A Sweet Finale- Complete with Olive Oil ice cream! There was also a creme freche ice cream on top of a blackberry/peach cobbler, a lemon curd tart and a chocolate mousse. The waiter told us to put the Spanish Olive Oil on the mousse, and to even put a little more on it that what we thought we'd like. It sounded a little strange, but I can not tell you how yummy it was!

Sunday Morning we had an excellent breakfast at this little cafe called "Sarafornia". so cute!

After breakfast we went and did a wine tour at Chateau Montelena. It was so beautiful! It was like a castle back in the woods. The grounds were kept gorgeous, with beautiful water scenes too.

And while Mom & Dad played in California...Kanyon & Ridge played at Grannys!!!

Kanyon likes to play dress up with Ridge.