Need to take pictures!!!

Ok so I have a goal to take more pictures for the next week... I have too many posts without them and know that people enjoy those more then words sometimes. I also love having pictures around but just haven't been very good at taking them lately.
Everyone is healthy and fine in our house now. Allie had us calling the doctor a couple times and had us have to go back in for strep test and almost got herself a fun trip to the hospital for IV fluids if she would have thrown up one more time but luckily she took the doctor serious and stopped throwing up and got better. She broke out in a rash all over her body for 2 days after her fever broke which was sad because she was constantly itching her face and you could just tell she felt like crap. But we are happy to report she is 100% and we have our happy baby back. I guess this virus is kind of like a cousin to chicken pox and once you get it you are immune but the problem is there are a ton of strands of it now so she could get a different one later. Emmie never got it and we are so happy about that. We were very, very careful with hand washing and not letting Emmie get too close to Allison.
New things with the girls are Allison is pulling up on everything people, the couch, the bath tub, drawers, whatever is in her path she wants to climb on it. The sad part is she is a little too eager and doesn't really have the coordination to stay up and it has made for a ton of bumps. But she gets right back up and does it again anyway. Also she has been a little slow with the solid foods and still only eats stage one foods and doesn't care to go to the next level. However, I think I finally discovered why, she wants to skip it all together. She just wants table foods and what I am eating. She doesn't have teeth so I didn't think she was really ready until I accidentally dropped something on her tray and she grabbed it and popped it in her mouth before I could even get at it. So I think I am just going to start blending the foods we are eating for dinner and just bypassing the other baby foods and see what she thinks of that. She has always loved attention but has been being a little ham lately and loving getting us to laugh at her. She is so funny and will make all sorts of sounds and movements just to get a reaction.
Emmie has been loving the warm weather and playing outside. Everyday when she wakes up she gives me new ideas of what we can do outside, the zoo, park, pool, backyard, you name it, she just wants to play. She has also gotten really good at puzzles and likes putting those together. Not the wooden easy ones, she likes the harder ones. She is also obsessed with Peter Pan and wants it in the DVD player when we are driving anywhere. She has also been telling me all about when she is going to take all of us to Neverland and we are all going to fly around and fight Captain Hook. She is so excited for Allison to get to be a big girl someday that she is trying to help her along a little faster then Allie is ready for and then I like. I have found her numerous times holding Allison in a standing position and trying to drag her along "walking" with her. She loves Allie so much and just wants to play with her but this has been a number one time-out getter lately. She has also graduated to showers instead of baths. She wants to be big just like her cousins so refuses to take baths anymore. She also got called to give her very first talk in Primary this next Sunday. I feel like my little babies are in way too much of a hurry to grow up and I'm not really liking it but it is awesome to see them grow.
I had my birthday last week and thanks family for the gifts and everyone who called. Laurie and kids... we still sing way worse then you and you might want to work on that for next year ;) Darren surprised me with a Bosch which I am so excited about! I have wanted one for a really long time. I need to go get some more flour today and want to try out a bread recipe asap. He has already made us cookies in it that were fabulous (his cookies always are but we'll say the Bosch helped)
The gym that Darren and I go to gives you a free body composition testing and personal trainer visit when you sign up so Darren and I took advantage of those last week and this week. We were both scared to see what the body comps would say (it measures bicep strength, body fat, flexibility and a couple other things) but they didn't turn out too bad so that made us feel a little bit better about ourselves. I met with the personal trainer on Monday and found out that my body is retarded. I talked to him about being a little concerned about never feeling any burn in the back of my legs or butt but always feeling stress on my quads. So we did a couple exercises that were supposed to really work those areas but I felt nothing. So had me lay down and put pressure on my muscles on the back of my legs and I thought I was going to die! I seriously almost kicked him in the face and wanted to cry. He told me that for whatever reason those muscles are tightened and not releasing and so my quads are taking on all the work of my whole leg and the backs aren't working at all. So he had me do some foam rolling and put pressure on the muscles to get them to relax and I again wanted to die. The hope is that I can get the muscles to relax and then retrain my legs to work the way they are supposed to. So yesterday and today I have been walking like a dork but hope that I can learn to do what he showed me better so I can get my leg muscles working right. Darren's personal training session is tonight so we'll see what type of things he can help him with.
That's pretty much us lately so that's all for now folks!

Coxsackievirus

On Sunday Allison started acting a little under the weather, that night she started a fever and just seemed like she wasn't feeling too well. She is normally a really happy baby so when she started to whine a lot we knew she had something more going on then just a little cold. That night she woke up a couple times just burning up and didn't really want to nurse so I thought maybe she had an ear infection. So Monday morning I called a pediatrician to get her in and the earliest time they had was 4:10pm. So all day Allie was just crying and had a fever and and was drooling really bad, it was so sad because there was nothing I could do to make her feel better. When we got to the doctor they weighed her (17lbs 6oz) and took her temperature (103.6, after tylenol) The doctor came in and told me the coxsackievirus has been running rampant with kids right now so she was going to check her hands, feet and mouth to see if it could be that, sure enough it was. Poor thing has little ulcers all over the back of her throat! We have no idea how she got it since no one we know has it. I hate when the kids are under a year and get sick, they just don't know what's going on and are just so sad. So there is no treatment for the virus you just have to stay up on fluids and give them tylenol and/or motrin and wait for it to pass. Luckily I found out once the fever is gone they aren't contagious anymore and that usually last 3-4 days. But it just takes a while for the ulcers to heal. Last night was the worst for Allie though she kept throwing up food, my milk, tylenol and the maalox the doctor told me to try to give her to coat her throat so it wouldn't hurt so bad. I hope today she will be feeling a bit better and I hope Emmie doesn't get it. So everyone with kids watch out since I guess it is going around really bad.

Things we love

So Lynette you asked for some things that we love so here is a long list that I'm sure we are still leaving a lot of things off of but this is what we came up with thus far...

Things I love (I don't have any recent pics of me so this will have to do)
Husband
Kids
Flip flops
Going to movies
Being outside
Laughing
Comfy pants and shirts
A warm towel when I get out of the shower
Lotion (Aveeno is my fav)
Cold pillowcases when it’s summertime
Peanut M&Ms
Mixed Red Vine Licorice
Rainbow chip frosting
Baths
Mary Kay foundation and concealer
Maybelline Lash by Lash mascara
T-shirts
The beach
Vacations
Warm weather
Sitting by a fire when it’s cold outside
Good books
Genuine people
The smell of my kids right after they have a bath (love Baby Magic products)
Prevage anti aging treatment (makes your skin so soft)
The smell of campfire smoke
Mary Kay microderm set
The sound of lawn mowers going in the summertime
Hearing Emmie “read” me books
Allison’s squeals
Darren’s chocolate chip cookies
Sweatshirts
Getting mail (letters and packages not bills)
The smell of the rain in Oregon (it smells clean instead of like pavement or dirt)
Being spontaneous
Seeing family and friends
Hugs and kisses from my babies
Coke Slurpee's
Watching Greys Anatomy (stupid writers strike! Can’t wait for Apr 24th though!!!)
Fresh fruit salad
Sales and discounts
Neutral colors
The smell of dishwashing and laundry soap
Flowers
Checking things off of a “to do” list
Going on dates with Darren
Fully stocked fridge and cupboards
The smell of a clean disinfected house
Chocolate covered strawberries
Showers
Conversations

Things Darren Loves
Feeling of clean teeth
Good hair cuts
Paychecks
Nice cars
Homeopathics
Guy time
Spending time with the kids and wife
Burt’s Bees Chapstick
World of Warcraft
Audio books
Warm weather (not hot, mid 70s)
Camping
Nature
Hot showers
Days off
Organic food
Green and Blacks hazelnut dark chocolate
Smell of campfire
Playing card games
Scrubs the series (thanks Aaron)
Watches
Sunglasses
Playing sports
Kiss my Face moisture shave cream
Jason’s organic beard and skin therapy
Bioenergetics
The sound of thunder
The sound of rain on windows
The feel of good quality leather
Daydreaming
Shorts and Dr Martin sandals
Good tasting water (no all water doesn’t taste the same)
Informing people about how dumb water fluoridation is
Tempur-Pedic mattresses
IntelliBED pillows
Music
Natural Health Magazine
Vacations/Cruises
Paintballing
Selling things for a profit
Infomercials
History Channel

Things Emmie loves (from her own mouth)
Pineapple
Carrots
Potatoes
Playing outside
Reading books
Apples
Bananas
Knock Knock jokes
Strawberries
Axel (her baby doll)
That daddy painted her room
Nightlights
Dress-up clothes
Puppies, grandma’s dog Sophie
Allie, daddy, mommy, and herself
Her special blanket Grandma T made her
Going to the gym
Getting her hair cut
Playing with cousins and friends
Going to the park
The carousel
The mall
Walmart
Coloring
Hearts on Valentines Day
Pink
Horses and cows
Airplanes and airports
Flying to Oregon to see Grandma T and Sophie and Grandpa Salway
Grandpa and Grandma in Alaska
Grandma and Grandpa Johnson
Farms
Tinkerbell and fairies
Apple slicers
Her new flip flops
Pigs that snort
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
American Dragon Jake Long

Things Allison Loves (as told by mom and dad)
Mommy
Being held
Her big sister
Carrots
Sweet potatoes
Banana rice cereal
Brown rice cereal
Trying to suck on mom’s fruit leathers while she's trying to eat them
Binkie
Saying Baba baababa
Giving snuggles and kisses
Being talked to
Pulling ears and hair
Sleeping next to mom
Baths
Being naked

I know... long time no blog

In the mist of it I haven't felt all that busy but then looking back at what has been going on for the last couple weeks I guess I have been on the go a lot. I need to just keep up blogging as I go instead of having to do long recap blogs but the time just gets away from me and before I know it weeks are gone. So here is the last couple weeks...

Mar. 28th-29th we watched Darren's brother's 4 kids over night. Emmie was in cousin heaven and never wanted them to leave. After they went home she kept asking for more sleepovers. We'll have to do it again sometime soon since Emmie really enjoyed it. Their kids are so fun and easy that it feels more like they are helping me then me being the one helping them sometimes.

Apr. 2nd-9th Emmie, Allison and I went to Oregon. We saw my new nephew who is so dang cute and has a TON of hair. It is so crazy to see the difference just a few months makes in babies. Allison looked like a beast up next to him. We also went to the beach while we were there. It was rainy all the way there but I have told Emmie every time we go to Oregon that we will go but it always falls through so this time I decided rain or shine she was going to get to see the ocean and play in the sand. We went to a couple different beaches to find the least amount of rain so she could enjoy herself more. When we got out on the sand the rain stopped and the sun came out a little bit. The water was of course colder then heck and the waves were crashing in pretty intensely but it was so much fun. I didn't get out my camera since I thought it would rain so sadly I have no pictures of her or my drenched pants from a wave catching me off guard. We got a couple pictures of Emmie having a blast in a couple huge puddles but those are on my mom's camera. While in Oregon we also went to Papa's pizza with all her cousins and that was a lot of fun since Emmie is now old enough to be on her own without me having to watch her every move so she just ran herself tired and crashed hard in the car afterwards.

Apr 10th I did laundry and unpacked from Oregon, yippee, I know.

Apr 11th-13th Emmie had a friend over for a few hours on Friday and I packed for Idaho. After Darren got home from work we went up to Idaho Falls to stay the weekend with our friends Becky and Travis. We went out to dinner and watched movies and just enjoyed their company. Saturday we had to go to Rexburg to check out my parents condo and give the keys to the new renters. Then Sunday we made our way back home.

Apr. 14th-15th Monday we went to the mall then grocery shopping and then hung out with our neighbor and her little girls. It just so happens that she has two little girls that are only a couple months difference than Emmie and Allie, pretty cool. We went over to her house for a bit and then walked down to the park. After Darren got home from work we went to the gym. We haven't been able to make it there for almost a month with all the things that have been going on so it was nice to make it back. Today Emmie slept until 10am and then we got her ready and went over to hang out with her cousins. She has missed them a ton with being gone so the whole way there she was asking if we were close yet and telling me how excited she was. Allison has a little cold and you can tell she doesn't really feel that well but she is such a good baby that she puts on a smile anyway. Today she stood up all by herself. Ah I am so sad about it. I don't want her to grow up! She was so happy with herself she she started to do a pant/laugh and sounded like she might hyperventilate, it was so cute. Emmie was so proud of her she has been telling anyone and everyone about it all day. She is seriously the sweetest big sister ever.

There is the play by play lol. I will try to be better! Nothing too time consuming is in the immediate future so I should have some time to sit down to blog. And I will try to be more diligent with the pictures. I have been sucking it up in that department but it is so hard to snap pictures when I am almost always carrying Allison at the same time.

Strange... I don't know why this blog is saying I posted it on the 10th oh well. I really posted it on the 15th.