BabyFace

My sweet cherub

Wordless Wednesday

Monday Moment

Alayah sporting her ponytail and her tiger shirt before school

Moment in time

Helping her papa assemble the new rock band drums.

After the zoo yesterday I decided to head back home and stop halfway again at a hotel. I still am not up to par and I just didn't think I could make an eight hour drive in once chunk. 

We started the last leg today and Alayah got bored about an hour out of town and decided to color herself all over. She said it was her superhero arms. Silly girl

Zoo Day

I love taking Alayah to the zoo when we visit. It's both of our favorite thing. Too bad I still didn't feel very well while we were there.

It was also super hot which made it pretty miserable if we weren't in the shade. Alayah loved seeing the lions and the zebras....two of her favorite animals.

She was in an awesome mood all day and I love that she is at the point where doing things like this are enjoyable the whole time because I don't have to get on to her about anything.

By the end of the day she was burnt out and so was I. It was nice to be able to get back in the car and be in the air conditioning. :)

First time all together

Today was the first time ever that all the kids were together with their father. It was awkward for the moms, but I think it was great for the kids. There were a lot of things that I wish could have been different and a lot of things that made me question whether or not I will ever let them all be together at the same time again, but I think it was a good experience to have in pictures as I highly doubt Alayah will remember any of it. 

Alayah's brother really loves his sisters and I am sad that he doesn't get to see them very often. He would make an awesome full time brother.

Sisters Together Again

I took Alayah to see her sister today. I can't believe how much they both have grown. Alayah was excited to see her and they both enjoyed some chicken nuggets together and then took off playing.

I am so glad that I am able to get the girls together even if its only once a year. I hope this is a tradition that can continue for many years.

Day 2

These girls love to coordinate :)

My beautiful 3.5 year old.

Best buds

Today we took the girls to Build a Bear which they totally loved. Alayah picked out a dachshund  puppy and named it Hannah.

Then we went to another friends house and enjoyed a yummy meal and Alayah took a short 2 minute dip in the pool lol.

Then we came back home and the girls hung out watching movies while I lay on the couch still sick. Alayah also hogged the container of tomatoes and ate almost all of them by herself.

We finally made it to Albuquerque around noon today and we met up with our besties. I still am not feeling very well. :( On a happier note the girls were so excited to see each other and hit it off right away like they haven't been apart for several months. 

The girls had a lot of fun playing with glow sticks as well. Alayah really got into it lol

Heading to NM

This is how she first felt about the hotel lol

and this is the after

As soon as work was over today, we headed to Albuquerque for our annual visit with our besties and also to visit Alayah's half siblings. It is only an 8 hour drive but close to halfway through I got a huge headache and just overall did not feel well so I stopped in Flagstaff and found us a hotel to stay in. Alayah was not too excited about it. She didn't understand what the hotel was for and wanted to leave asap. Luckily, she calmed down and  I got some much needed rest.

Pool Day

We hung out today around the house and enjoyed a nice relaxing time in the pool.

Alayah is not too fond of the water so she prefers to float around on a raft the whole time.

She also enjoys all the attention from her Mommy and Grandma

Wordless Wednesday

7/17/11

Movie Date

This girl cracks me up. I love her sense of style :)

I took her to see the Winne the Pooh movie today.

It was pretty cute, but while taking these pictures before we left, I didn't realize she had walked into a cactus and had the stickers stuck in her knee. She didn't complain until the movie was almost over and then it was down hill from there. She was not having anything to do with me taking them out. It took my mom and me to hold her down to try and get them all out. My poor girl. Now she avoids the cactus in the yard like its the plague lol.

Happy 4th of July

Alayah was not feeling her dress. She screamed and cried almost the entire time it was on. Luckily, I talked her into smiling for just a few pictures and then I told her she could take it off. So much for dresses I guess.

We didn't really do much today. Just hung around the house and then ventured out to watch the fireworks around 9.

This was our first July 4th here in Vegas so it was really cool to be driving and see fireworks going off all over the city. In Wyoming personal fireworks are illegal so this was a first for even me to see so many people setting off their own. I can't wait to see what next year will bring.

On the way to the fireworks Alayah thought they were awesome seeing them going off all around her on the way there. She said they were her favorite. It wasn't until the actual show started that she freaked out and decided she didn't like them. She sat in the car with her ears covered the whole time and kept saying lets get outta here mom. Maybe next year she will like them lol

This years do'

I love her sassy posing she has been doing lately. I bought her this outfit and I can't get over the fact that they are 4T's and the shorts were snug...where did my tiny baby go.

I tried to come up with a new patriotic style for this year but halfway through I just lost interest. Today was her 4th of July celebration at school so I will probably end up taking this style out this weekend she she can rock an afro on Monday since it's national Afro day.

 I hope she won't be scared of the fireworks this year :)

Where did the month go?

I can't believe today is the last day of May and I haven't posted anything. I don't even know what I did all month long that kept me from blogging. I need to get back in the groove of things asap.

Going Home

Alayah still isn't drinking much, but they decided to send her home because she is just not having anything to do with being in the hospital. They hope that her being at home will help her recover quicker. I never thought we would be in the hospital so long for an outpatient surgery.

I snapped a picture of this mural on the wall leading to the pediatric unit. Alayah was so glad to be going home, but she had another freak out moment when it came to removing the i.v. Hopefully, she will come home and feel much better with her own cups and toys and bed and movies. :)

Day 2 in the hospital

Alayah didn't do so well during the night as far as drinking goes, so we are still here. She is supposed to be drinking several cups of juice a day and at this point she has only had maybe an ounce in the entire day and that is with me forcing her to drink. She is miserable and I am miserable. I think that she would do so much better at home because she is so scared of everything here, but they won't let us until she starts drinking.

She got a burst of energy this afternoon so we took a wagon ride around the unit. It was really hard trying to pull her in a wagon and push her i.v. pole at the same time. Not something that I want to get good at either. It was so sad walking past the rooms on her floor. I saw some with small babies all alone, some with chemo signs, and others with older children who looked very sick and were also alone. I know Alayah just had her tonsils out and will better in no time, but it really hits home how fragile life is and how many other families are going through far worse. I said silent prayers for all of them as we passed their rooms. Today was a long day and they said she has to stay another night. *sigh* Hopefully, tomorrow we can go home. I'm bummed Alayah will miss out on the fun of Easter, but she isn't alone as all the other kiddos on this floor are missing out too.

Surgery Day

I woke Alayah up right before we left to go to the hospital. I wanted her to sleep as long as possible since she wasn't allowed anything to eat or drink. She woke up a little after 9 and we left at 9:30 so it worked out well. She was in a good mood on the way there, but that was only because I didn't tell her where we were going.

As soon as we pulled into the hospital parking lot she started screaming and crying that she didn't want to go to the doctors. Not a good way to start out the day for either one of us. We were told to be at the hospital at 10 and that her surgery would be around 10:45. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist was held up and Alayah didn't get taken back to the pre-op area until after 2pm. It was a very long wait for someone who hadn't eaten and was thirsty. Once they took us back the nurse showed Alayah her bed. Alayah heard dead. Screaming and crying of "I dont wanna be dead" carried whenever a nurse walked by. If the nurses tried to touch her or put anything on her she would scream "it's going to kill me!" It was horrible. I was dreading them taking her from me when it was time for her surgery because she was so upset being there. Luckily, she fell asleep right before they came to get her, so she didn't even know that I left.

The surgery only took 45 minutes, but it seemed like forever. I was called back and my poor girl looked so small laying in the hospital bed. All the other kids that had gone before Alayah had already gone home except for one and he was getting ready to leave when I got back there. The nurse told me Alayah was going to need to stay the night so they could keep an eye on her. I was really disappointed because I didn't understand why she had to stay when everyone else got to leave. They said she could go home during the night if she did well, so I let it go and hoped we would be leaving soon.

Alayah was moved upstairs to the pediatric unit and again was freaked out anytime someone would come into the room. I felt so bad for her and I just wanted to go home. They brought her a tray of food and she ate all the corn on the plate and a whole cup of jello. Later, I found out the tray wasn't for her, but for someone who was in the room before her. I guess she wasn't supposed to be eating that type of food so soon after surgery.

Alayah was extremely afraid of her i.v and for several hours we had to hide her arm under her blanket so she couldn't see it. Today did not go as I had expected and everything from the very beginning seemed to go wrong. I never imagined having to stay the night in a hospital with my baby. It is something I never want to do again.