We're home!!!

It's 11:15 and WE ARE HOME! The surgery and recovery went great. No problems. She did amazingly well. We're home feeding and cuddling the little princess. I'll post more when we get settled and she's down for a nap.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the day. Riley's surgery. We have to be at the hospital at 6:45 am. Surgery is at 8:15. We should be home around noon. I'll post an update then. I know it's minor but still, someone is taking my baby, and they'll have control of her precious little life. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Also challenging will be the fasting. Seriously, how do you have an eight month old fast?! She can have regular diet up until midnight. Then clear liquids until 5:15. Then nothing. I think it may be the longest ride to the hospital ever. She's going to want that morning bottle when she gets up. I might have to drink wine for breakfast.

Above, a picture of Miss Riley sticking out her tongue. Or at least an attempt. And, a picture of what we dealt with on Super Bowl Sunday. 25 inches of snow in our driveway! I called it "Super SNOW Sunday".

2 Teeth & Weekend Update

First, thank you to those of your who responded to my post on the Fluoride Debate. I decided to buy the Water Purifier but am still doing research. Problem is there are so many differing opinions.

Now, on to fun stuff. I told you last week that Miss Riley got her first tooth. Well, she's now the proud owner of two bottom teeth!

These two little opaque jewels must have been the culprit behind our three hour cuddle marathon last night. And if today is any indication (non stop chewing and fingers in her mouth) we could have a repeat performance tonight.

Here's pictures of the beauties (Never mind the soaking wet shirt in the middle of winter. I was cleaning out email and let her go a little too crazy with the sippy cup of water. Bad, neglectful Mom. These are the things that happen when I'm on baby duty and Shelly leaves the house.) Also I think she looks a little bit sassy in the first picture. There's some mischievousness behind those eyes.

Saturday was an eventful day for our family. First the three of us went to lunch at a nice restaurant. We were prepared with snacks, toys, and lunch for the little one. It couldn't have gone better! It was so much fun sitting in the restaurant as a family. This was our first restaurant outing in several months and she did amazingly well. Pictured here is little Miss enjoying lunch with her Mama's.

After lunch we went to meet my friend Shelly's new baby boy Sawyer. What a beautiful little boy. Riley had fun seeing the baby. Really she enjoyed watching/playing with Shelly's dogs the most. We enjoyed holding a newborn and that amazingly wonderful new born baby smell. Here's a pic of Riley being a big girl and waving while at Shelly's house and a few pics of baby Sawyer.

Sunday was a lazy day! Shelly and I took turns letting each other nap!!! It was wonderful!

The Fluoride Debate

We are in the process of getting a water purifier installed because the water in our area is horrible, or at least that's what the salesman has told us. We know we have extremly hard water and are getting a water softener. But we are still up in the air on a water purifier. The salesman has me sold because supposedly our area has a higher level of contaminants (lead, sediment, chlorine, dissolved solids/mineral salts, cysts, radium & arsenic) than what the EPA recommends. Fact is, I think the water tastes fine and I can't really find anything that confirms his case besides what he can provide me with.

Then there is the fluoride debate. Our water is fluoridated. Some people have stated babies must have fluoridated water for their teeth. The dentist confirmed this for me and said if you don't use the fluoridated water you'll need to use fluoride supplements. Then I start digging around on the Internet and am now more confused. Some sites say not to rely on fluoridated water because you can't control how much fluoride your child is getting. Others scare you that you could be giving too much fluoride to your child.

So I was all set to cancel the purifier (saves us $800) in favor of fluoridated water. I called the salesman and he does his job on selling about how contaminated our water is and now has me on the fence again.

I'm looking for opinions on fluoride! Help!!!

Round and round and round we go...

where she stops nobody knows!

New video of Miss Riley.

Video 1 - She's got walking in circles down in her walker/activity table. I think she's still in there wearing tracks in the carpet.


Video 2 - Just a sampling of her squawking. This is NOTHING!!! This is her indoor quite voice. She really does typically sound more like Andrew, see today's video at 2 Mommies and a Meatball. What I also love about this video is the kiss from Roxi. They have a love affair going and I hope and pray that we can help Roxi feel better and stay with us for many years to come. We meet with the Ortho surgeon next Friday. Oh, and notice the sexy shirt. I thought this was an adorable outfit from The Chil.drens Place. (I love their Yoga pants for babies.) Shelly thinks the lace makes it a little too grown up.

8 Months Old Today (well, really, on the 19th) **UPDATED

Let's catch up. Yes, it's been awhile. My apologies. But, it has been crazy. Things might be settling down. Here's a recap of the past month. I'm keeping it short and sweet so as not to bore you. But I PROMISE more details and updates on a regular basis.

• Riley turned 8 months old on January 19th!
• My best friend since the 6th grade announced that she's PREGGERS!!!! Yeah T&A!!! I'm so excited for you! I can't wait for our kids to grow up together.
• Miss Riley got her first tooth!
• We MOVED!!! (the day after Christmas I MUST add.)
• We celebrated Riley's first Christmas and spend lots of time with family and friends.
• My Mom is cancer free after chemo!!! But now she starts radiation.
• We started finishing the basement of our new house.
• Our old car, which we keep just so we have a second car in emergencies, broke down not once, not twice, not three times, but FOUR TIMES!!!
• My good friend Shelly welcomed her new little boy Sawyer on January 17th. He is such a blessing. Shelly suffered many miscarriages prior to this so now, she's got her precious little baby.
• I spent five wonderfully sunny days in Palm Springs, CA with the girls doing "crafty" things, taking great classes, and just relaxing.
• We've spent money like crazy on the new house, and now are feeling a little drained. New fence, cha-ching, new fridge, cha-ching, basement framed and sheet rocked, cha-ching, water softener, cha-ching, and now just a cha as there is no ching left in our wallet.
• Riley is mobile in her own special way. She's not crawling forward but is pushing herself backwards and in circles. But mostly she rolls, and rolls, and rolls, EVERYWHERE!
• Riley has found her voice. And it's not a quite, indoor voice. It's a loud, let's make sure everyone knows I'm here, voice. She's even scared her boyfriend Kole to tears with her talking (more like yelling).
• Riley had her appointment to check for the bladder reflux. Good news is her bladder and kidneys are normal! No problems there. The UTI was an isolated incident.
• We've met with Riley's plastic surgeon and are making plans to have her final surgery before she turns one. We're scared to death but know it has to be done. **UPDATED: Riley's surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, February 6th. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.**
• We found out yesterday our not even three year old Boxer has a condition of the spine called Spondylosis. It's the same thing we lost our last dog, Ti-Amo, to. It's not good. Especially since she's so young. We're going to consult with a surgeon just in case there is anything he can do but most likely we'll manage with pain medication and steroids as long as her quality of life is good. Right now she's still part puppy. Even though she's in pain she's still trying to run and jump and fetch toys.

That's most of what's been going on. We love our new house! And love our baby girl more every day. We're making plans now to welcome Holly to Utah in February! Can't wait!

On the Move

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Below are the pictures we took for our Holiday cards this year. I think they turned out pretty dang cute! I LOVE this little girl!

It's been a month, yes a month, since my last post. I've got to get a new routine down making time to post and comment. I do find minutes here and there to browse blogs and keep up with everyone. I've said it before, and I'm going to say it again, I'll be better after the first of the year.

Here's what's going on with us (the condensed version).

Riley's 7 months old! Wow! She's so much fun but is also very strong willed and stubborn. She wants what she wants when she wants it. I think we have our work cut out for us. And I love every minute of it.

At her 6 1/2 month check-up she weighed in at 15 lbs 10 oz and 26 inches long. She's still on the small side. I laugh because she so has my body. Longer torso and short legs. She wears 9 month tops and 6 month pants.

Miss Riley got sick at Thanksgiving and was running high fevers off and on. She's okay now but there were a couple of rough weeks. It ended up she had a Urinary Tract Infection. They suspect the cause is something known as reflux (her bladder not completely emptying itself). In most cases I guess they grow out of it. She has some follow-up tests scheduled in January.

And last but not least. We sold our house!!! We move into the new house THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. From the date we accepted the offer to move date we had 3 weeks. It's been CRAZY!!! Trying to pack up a house and take care of a seven month old is intense! Thank goodness she's not mobile yet. Close but she's saving it for the new house. Anyway, we're packing like crazy and trying to still celebrate Christmas. I've become very dependent on a nice glass of wine in the evenings. Below is a picture of our new house. The picture is a little deceiving because it's big, it's a rambler (no more stairs), with an unfinished basement that we've already starting arranging to finish. I can't wait!!!

So after the first of the year and after the move I'm going to become a better blogger. I miss just brain dumping sometimes. Oh, and I go to Palm Springs (without wife and baby) the second week of January. Lots of fun in the sun with by best Stamping friends!

Again, Happy Holidays to all!