December

Oh, the catching up I have to do...  

December was super fun!  I did some Christmas projects like...

Making an ornament wreath,

Making Lexsi's stocking (she chose the material, by the way-- I held a few choices for her and she picked these reindeer!)

Decorating with the cherished Granny-Garland,

And making a new Christmas tree topper.

A few weeks before Christmas, we decided to have a gingerbread house competition.

DJ and I with our football stadium

Tia Sandia with her house

Davey and Meg with their temple

Jill, Kate and Jord with their house

(Kate is clearly thrilled with getting to eat the decorations!)

And Lyssa with her house.

The week before Christmas, I got on an "I need a dog" kick.  DJ obliged by buying me this sweet puppy for Christmas!!!

Don't you love her??? Her name is Cosmo and she's a lab/collie/heeler mix.  She's super smart and so so so sweet!  We originally planned on house training her (our whole main level is laminate), but after the first day it was apparent I am allergic to her.  I cried ALL day long on Saturday because I thought I was going to have to sell her and I was already attached to her!  DJ convinced me she'd be fine living solely outside, and that's what she's been doing ever since.  She's such a good puppy, and I'm so glad I have her!!!

On Christmas Eve, we went to Grammie and Tooge's house for dinner and all the kids got to open Christmas Jammies!!!

Cougar, Bean, Lex, Bekah and Sarie-Loo-Who.

I got DJ a banjo for Christmas, and was able to keep it a secret from him!  He's really good at it, but unfortunately hasn't had much time to practice, as we spent the 4 days following Christmas in the hospital with Lexsi.

We have a tradition that we make each other home-made presents and we exchange them on Christmas Eve.  It's my favorite Christmas tradition we have!  This year I painted DJ a picture of the Manti Temple and he made me this table:

DJ bought Lex a BYU hat (so cute!):

Unfortunately, that's all the pictures we have from Christmas.  Lex was already sick (RSV, remember?) so I wasn't really focused on picture taking.

For good measure, here's one last picture...

This was the first night we got home from the hospital.  Lex was SO sleepy that when we took her out of bed to hook her up to her monitor (it monitors her oxygen levels), she stayed asleep!  Poor little baby!

Things To Remember

***That one time I was at Meggin's house and she put McKay on timeout and as he was sitting there waiting to be free from punishment, he started singing, "I know a name, a glorious name..." That little turkey!!!  I can't hear that song now without thinking of him!

***Grandma Kaiser telling me how she played drums in the band in high school. HAHA!

*** Grandma Kaiser telling me how when she was a teenager they'd go out on the highway and dance.  There was an intersection and I think it was at the bottom of a hill so you could see cars coming from a long way away, so they'd pull their cars up and turn up the radios and dance in the intersection.  Highway patrolmen would come by and just tell them to make sure they watched for cars.  Can you even imagine?  I love that!

*** Mut telling Savanna that Lexsi has "RSVP."

*** Mut thinking that DJ bought me a toy dog for Christmas.  (Somehow, he got me confused with Kaitlyn. It's okay, I can totally see why... **sarcasm**)

RSV

Three little letters every parent dreads:  RSV. 

The day after Christmas, Lexsi stopped eating.  She had had a low-grade fever and a cough for a few days, but I wasn't too worried about it.  When she stopped eating, I decided I should take her to the doctor.  We had to go to the after-hours clinic, and couldn't get in til 8pm.  By 10pm, we found out we were going to the hospital.  Her oxygen levels were low, and they wanted to monitor her through the night.  We were in Provo, but the closest hospital that had any open rooms was in American Fork.  We were just grateful we didn't have to go up to Salt Lake!  We got Lex on oxygen and drove to the hospital.  They hooked her up to monitors, suctioned out her nose and throat, and took vitals.  She was FURIOUS at them for suctioning her out, and the nurses were commenting on how strong she is-- she was screaming and flailing and kicking the nurses.  I have to say, I was pretty proud of her fiery spirit even though I felt bad that she was sad!  We were grateful that she started drinking pedialyte once we got to the hospital, so she didn't need to be hooked up to an IV.  That would have been torture for us all!!!

Just before getting Lex into the doctor, DJ had gone to see Les Miserables.  While in the hospital that first night, I kept thinking of the line from "Master of the House" that says, "Charge 'em for the lice, extra for the mice, two percent for looking in the mirror twice."  I was just thinking of how each thing the doctors were doing would be adding up on our bill!  Luckily, we're very blessed that due to our great insurance, we don't have to pay for any part of the hospital stay.  

We were in the hospital for 3 days, and they were pretty boring and uneventful.  Lexsi did have a reputation on the Pediatrics floor-- each new nurse would say something like, "Oh, this is 'Fiery Lex,' huh?" or "So this is Lexsi the fighter!" or, "I heard Lexsi is quite a singer!"  She was such a good sport.  She was singing and clapping and was generally happy (except when they were suctioning her out!).  We're happy to be home now, and she just has to be on oxygen when she sleeps.  We're pretty much keeping her in lockdown in our house for a few weeks, which is kinda crappy for all of us.  In the end, we're just grateful she has the medical help she needs!

I tried to get some pictures of her during the process, but they were on my crappy phone.  Better than nothing, I suppose!

Getting an albuterol treatment in the doctor's office:

On the way to the hospital with her oxygen:

Waking up for the first time in the hospital:

Sleeping in the hospital (don't you kind of love that tiny hospital gown!!):

Cute little feet in the hospital crib (with a probe on her foot to monitor oxygen):

Playing with toys in the hospital 

(for the record, DJ and I totally slept on a twin-sized bed together for 3 nights... gag!!!):

Sleepy Granny-Baby on oxygen:

Watching football with Daddy:

Sad Girl

I feel a little guilty about posting this picture.  I don't know why... I think it's cause I don't want to seem like a complainer or have anyone think I'm upset that my little girl is sick and teething.  BUT-- she is both of those things, and the past 3 days have been some of our hardest together.  She doesn't know what to do with herself, and is fussing and crying the majority of the day.  I'm always posting about how amazing she is, and I stand by that 100%.  She's SUCH a happy, fun baby!  It's so very rare that she's ever upset that when she is it's weird.  

But this post is a reminder that real life happens, that we have bad days, that sometimes  your baby just won't be happy, no matter how many walks you go on, suckers you try to give her (without success), naps she takes, trips to the store you make to get out of the house, doses of Advil you give, episodes of Baby Einstein she watches, songs you sing, books you read, baths she takes... etc.

Some weeks are just tough.

And that's okay.

Thanksgiving Favorites

Okay so I'm super behind... We went to Lovell for Thanksgivin {as Blaine says}, and it was great!  We had the best roads we've ever had going home at holiday time, so that was awesome!  While we were there we played volleyball, watched football, ate delicious food, saw Wreck-It Ralph, took family pictures, and did some Black Thursday shopping!   I'd say it was a successful trip!

 Our little family

 BFF's!

 Lex and Mammie

 Our little Cheerleader :)

 Lex and Vanna

 Lex and Tre

 Her first time driving... ha!

Favorite weekend quotes:

Keesha {about wedding rings} :  "Just because it has a lifetime warranty doesn't mean it's guaranteed to last!"

Two words:  "Bladder Hammock."

{I recognize that if you weren't there, this won't be funny.  But I was, and it is, and it's my blog, after all!}

Tour de Savage Home

Yeah, I've lived in my new house for over a month now... guess it's time to give you a tour!

First of all, here's a picture of the floor plan so you have an idea of the layout:

And here's what I've done with it!

The front entry:

(this now has a Christmas wreath... I've been working getting these pictures posted for a while!)

Two-car garage.  Which also holds a scooter:

Entry way from the front door:

1/2 bath on the main level:

View of the entry way (and door to garage) from the hall:

And another view of the entry:

Kitchen from the hallway:

Kitchen again:

...And again... (the door is a pantry):

Living room, from the kitchen:

More living room: 

 Yeah, I didn't clean my house for this... it's my blog, not BHG Magazine!

Stairs to the basement (which are behind the closed door shown below):

Upstairs landing, AKA my office:

 The door on the far left is my bedroom, middle is the laundry room and the right is a bathroom.

Alexsi's bathroom.  (Spoiled!):

Laundry room:

Big fatty storage closet on the landing:

Opposite view of the landing.

The doors are a linen closet, Lexsi's room and the extra bedroom:

Master Bedroom:

Little nook in the master... not sure what to do with it...

Master Bath:

Master closet:

 (The first time in our lives DJ and I have shared a closet!)

Extra Bedroom/Craft Room/ Book Room/ My Sanctuary:

 I didn't get any pictures of Lexsi's room cause she was sleeping when I took all the rest.  But it's just a basic baby bedroom :)  Maybe I'll get pictures of it eventually... maybe not.

And there's the tour!  There's still LOTS of decorating that needs to be done, but I'm basically in love with my house!