Prayers for Preslee

I just found out about a tragic accident that happened last weekend to a couple I know in Rexburg. Their little 18-month-old baby girl fell into a canal. Two miles downstream, a farmer pulled her out of the water and started CPR. Amazingly, she's still alive. They're in Salt Lake City at Primary Children's Hospital waiting to see if she'll pull through.

So, if you would, pray for little Preslee and her family.

They are posting updates about her progress on their blog if you'd like stop by:
patrickandashley.blogspot.com

6 Months?

I cannot believe that this:

Has turned into this:

C-R-A-Z-Y

Isn't she the cutest baby ever?

People say she looks like me. Secretly, I'm thrilled.

I love her big brown eyes and the way they almost close shut when she smiles big (which is very often). I love that she smiles at anyone and everyone (even the scary looking homeless guy we saw yesterday). I love her cute little voice. I love that she sings/yells whenever she's excited. I love that she's sitting up all by herself. I love that she's eating bananas, sweet potatoes, and rice cereal (which means she's sleeping better too). I love that she is fascinated by her big sister and I'm excited for them to be good friends. Basically, I love everything about my little baby girl.

Except for the fact that she's growing way too fast!!

Happy half birthday Leah Girl! We love you to pieces!

Here We Have Idaho

Last week the girls and I returned from our trip to Idaho. We missed Brad a lot, but we sure had fun being with family.

This is what I will remember most about our trip. Aren't these little girls darling?!

We spent most of our time with my brother and his family. We hadn't seen them in almost a year, and that was WAY too long. We live on opposite sides of the country, but wish we lived next door. (Yes, we love them that much.) 

Our sweet little girls played their hearts out together. They learned to ride bikes, played with bubble wands, danced the hula, jumped on the tramp, and played in the hot tub, among many other things. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen. 

I cried as I watched those sweet little girls hug each other when it was time to say good bye. They talked and giggled in their sweet little sing-song voices right up until Kayt and Ella were both buckled in their car and  driving away. So sweet. I can't wait to get them all together again. Then Leah will be old enough to join the party too. (Though she did enjoy being held by Kayt.)

Some other memorable events of the trip were: 

-Seeing my mom's beautiful remodeled basement

-Staying up in the middle of the night with my mom and a baby who refused to sleep well

-Spending a couple of days at a cabin in Island park

-Sitting with Cass and watching Lainy as she saw Beauty and the Beast at the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone

-Going to Cassi's softball game and keeping a running commentary with Scott, Kris, and Hayley (we can be pretty hilarious)

-Surprising my dad with a luau birthday party

-Praying for Brad's mom as she went in for foot surgery

-Then praying for Grandma Hansen as she went in for surgery after suffering a fall (she's 93, and we must have more to learn from her because she pulled through the surgery and is recovering amazingly well)

-Meeting my new niece Sadie Lou (and seeing her cute parents dote on her)

-Chatting with Leslie while Lainy played with David and Sarah Jane

-Seeing the Rexburg Farmers Market and Jessica's beautiful quilts

-Having a picnic with Hayley and Stuart at Smith Park

-Sunday dinner with Hansens

-Fishing with my dad (and catching a fish! I haven't lost my touch)

-Helping Lainy catch two fish

-Watching Leah smile at anyone and everyone but refuse to giggle no matter how hard anyone tried

 

We had a fabulous trip. It was a little hard to leave. If we didn't have Brad waiting on the other end of our flight, we might not have gotten on the plane.

As it was, we did get on the plane, the girls traveled great, and Brad was waiting for us with flowers and balloons when we got into Seattle. Oh I love that man! 

And it is good to be home now that we're here.

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great trip!

A couple more little things I want to remember:

-Lainy walked right up to my parents huge chocolate lab, stuck her little finger in his face, and said: "Just take a deep breath, Gunther!" after he barked at her.

-Leah started sitting up all by herself.

-Kayt asked her parents why Lainy likes to play with rocks and dirt.

When Daddy is Home

Yes, we're glad when Daddy is home. Glad as we can be. We clap our hands. We shout for joy. You get the idea...

We had Brad all to ourselves for a few days last week. He officially finished his second year of med school with a white coat ceremony last Thursday. It was called a "Clinical Transition Ceremony". We left the girls with some friends and braved the rush hour traffic to make it to the ceremony just in the nick of time.

It turned out to be a pretty cool evening. Basically, it got us excited for the next two years of school where Brad will actually get to practice a little of what he's learned so far.

Here is Brad in his white doctor coat with his mentor Dr. Arnold.

And here we are with our good friends the Millers. They're going to Boise for their clinical rotations while we stay here. We're really going to miss them!

Friday we went to the zoo. Leah loved playing with her Daddy and meeting the penguins.

Lainy got to be good friends with the baby gorilla and the bear.

On Saturday the constant drizzle that had been falling from the Seattle sky for two weeks finally stopped and the gorgeous warm sun showed her face. We celebrated by going to the beach.

Lainy played in the sand and surf with her Daddy.

Leah and I hung out and took a little snooze on the beach.

We had a fun weekend with Brad home!

Monday, Brad started hitting the books hard to prepare for his big test in July. Pray for him please!

Also on Monday, when asked why she peed on the floor for the first time in weeks, Lainy replied: "I just miss my Daddy so much when he's at school". Pray for us too!

Next week the girls and I are leaving Brad to his studying and flying home for a couple of weeks. Leah needs to meet her uncle, aunts, and cousins. We have a brand new little niece to meet too. We can't wait!

Rice Cereal

I just had to post these. We gave Leah rice cereal for the first time tonight. This picture sums up how she felt about it:

Ha ha ha! Oh I just love babies. Poor thing.

And a little video:

Oh we love this girl.

By the way, Brad did great on his finals. He even got honors in a few classes. Wahoo! More importantly, we survived year 2 of medical school (which is rumored to be the hardest year). Now he just has to pass the boards in July. We're excited for the next phase of Brad's education (which begins with an OBGYN rotation in August).