People find a reason to believe

Only 1 more week....

2010-12-11T01:15:00.005-07:00

And we get to be a family!!!!!

I am one lucky girl, I have sooo much to be thankful for :)

Well Hello...

2010-10-18T23:42:00.050-06:00

I am the most terrible blogger ever!! Its just that life has been sooo busy!! (haha but isn't everyone's? ;) But really, life has been crazy. I am working full time now and Livie is in kindergarten and it just seems like I never have time to blog or check blogs anymore :(
Anyway I'm here now and thought I would post a couple updates...if anyone even reads this anymore, haha.
So lets see...Life is good. Busy, but really good :) I am working full time and its really made me realize how lucky I am that I was able to spend so much time with Livie before she started school. My time with her is precious and I'm so grateful I have a job that allowed me to bring Livie with me to work and now work while she's in school.

Oh and did I mention that Livie is in KINDERGARTEN!!!! I can't even believe it. Its just awful. Ok, well for her its great, she loves it. She really likes her teacher and LOVES learning. She is constantly drawing and practicing her letters until she has no paper left to draw on (that is until she moves on to her bedroom furniture...little stinker!)
I just cannot beleive my baby girl is old enough to be in kindergarten...I remember when she was just a newborn rocking her to sleep and thinking how 'some day' she would start kindergarten...
Well that same day came way too soon!!!
I've held it together pretty well though...I didn't even cry the first week I had to drop her off at school...but we won't get into the second week... haha.

Livies first day of school:

And the next day:

(Instead of posting a trillon pics, I'll just save all the other 'next day' pictures for my own scrap book... ;)

In June, my brother, Elder Logan Phillips came home from serving a mission in Tx.
We were sooooo excited to see him!!!!
I think we might've overwhelmed him a lil when he first got home, heehee. We couldn't help it, we were just so excited!!
(Livie ended up having to spend a couple days in the hospital right before Logan came home because of a really bad seizure/breathing episode she had...so we were realllly happy that we were able to come home in time to see Logan....and that Livie bounced back so well health wise :)

I've gotten to spend a lot of time with my sisters lately. I can honestly say they are my best friends :) I don't know what I'd do with out em!! We have sooo much fun just being together and hanging out. During the summer my mom and Shayla would come stay with us and we'd make a girls wknd of it. We definately made a lot of fun memories ;)
My awesome, talented cousin, Sarah, took these 'sister pics' for us and we gave them to my mom for her B day :) It was a lof of fun making these pictures

We had a GREAT summer and spent a lot of time with the fam :)

Now that Logan's back we got to go riding together... (we were watching the boys ride on the big jumps... and maybe posing a lil too for this picture ;)
Love this girl...she made me laugh every single day!!!!!

Of course...while we were home we got to get some farm work in

And then we even talked the bro's into coming down to SL and hangin with us over a few wknds. :)

Also, in June... my beautiful Bestie got MARRIED!! She was such a GORGEOUS bride and looked stunning on her SPECIAL day :)

Mr. and Mrs. Andy Rowell :)

I got to be a bridesmaid :)

And...I even caught the BOUQUET!!! and you know what they say...if you catch the bouquet you're next in line for being the bride. Sillllly little saying....

But actually.....it must hold some truth... cuz....

I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the night it all went down...I totally did NOT even see it coming ;)

(hence the hot farm clothes I'm sportin ;)

I am sooooo excited to marry Rob!!! He is an AMAZING guy :) :)

He's so good to Livie and me :)

(lil fam pic at none other than the EISF)

Well, thats my life lately... So in a nutshell...life is GOOD :)

Just had to slide this pic in. Seriousy, how cute are these 2?! haha!! Just love them!!!

Can you talk the talk?

2010-06-01T11:27:00.019-06:00

(This is a long post, I am mostly writing these things down as a journal for myself...since I am so bad at actually writing in my journal, ha)

I just love how innocent children are, the way they think and perceive things. Oh to see through a child's eyes :) I love how Livie looks at things.

~So the weather here hasn't been too warm, in fact its been pretty atrocious, even going as far as snowing in May!!
When Livie's birthday was coming up I told her it was almost her birthday. I thought she would be so excited, instead she was confused and said,
"Mom, you didn't tell the truth."
Me- What do you mean?
Livie- You said my birthday was in summer time!!! Its not my birthday yet!
(Haha, I had to blame mother nature on that one!)

Then the other day I was listening to Livie play with her dolls. She had pulled her scriptures out and was 'reading' to them. She was telling them about Nephi-a and Lehi-a. Later I told her their names were actually just Nephi and Lehi...Livie said, "Oh I know who Nephi and Lehi are,
(like duh, Mom) I was talking about their wives."
(Luv it! ;)

Then when Utah had a little earthquake here. I explained to Livie what had happened and she kept calling it an earth quick. When I asked her why, she said:
"Because the Earth shook real quick."
Makes sense to me, I love how her little mind works :)

Baring the cold spring weather!!

I LOVE Livie's vocabulary, sometimes she talks like such a little adult. She uses words like 'totally,' and 'amazing,' and 'the thing is...' But my absolute favorite things she does....she pronounces her R's as W's: she calls Rob 'Wob or Wobit instead of Robert. She says 'widiculous,'and her baby doll, donut cutter (yes, that is what she named it) she calls it donut cutta. Haha I just love it!! I'm so sad she's 5 now, because when she was 4 she would say, "I'm fo!!" ;)

She also says:
-blow the window up
-you losed, I winned
-Dasagna and pasghetti are her favorite foods
-She also loves yogwut (yogurt)
-nail hang (instead of hang nail)

*The GiRls*

When Uncle David came to town, him and Liv were best buds! :)

Now that Alyvia is older she doesn't like to snuggle with me anymore...but every once in a while I can talk her into it... and then we fell asleep, I don't know why, but I just love taking naps with her!!

This is my favorite, Livie LOVES to draw and color. She can write her name and has really gotten into drawing people as well. This is a picture she drew of her family, Gma and Gpa Phillips and all her aunts and uncles. Haha I love the big eyes :)

Some chalk drawings of more people

Livie's many poses:

Seriously, such a lil poser!

And I am waaaaay behind...but here's Easter pics

For FHE we bought some Walmart kicks and jazzed them up a bit. It was fun and maybe we actually wear them too!! ;)

Ohhhh I cannot believe how BIG my Livie bug has gotten, its just CRAZY!! She's definitely got some attitude and spunk these days, haha! But she's still my best little partner in crime :)

Wow!!

2010-05-26T17:46:00.010-06:00

Wow...I am such a crappy blogger...and wow...my baby turned FIVE years old!!!!!!!

Time has gone by just way too fast. I was seriously a little sad that Livie is getting so BIG!! She sure is growing up and I sure love her!!

She seriously has so much attitude and spunk. Some days I feel like I have a 15 year old, haha!! But this girl cracks me up, she definitely has a sense of humor ;)

I can't help but get a little nostalgic as I post this...I just have SOOO much to be grateful for. I can't believe how healthy Alyvia is. This past year she has made those lasting improvements for sure...she no longer has MAJOR anxiety like she used to (she's so much more independent!) She's only had a couple of seizures in the past year, and she was only hospitalized twice in 2009...and she doesn't CRY like she used to!!! Part of the brain healing was crying...endless crying. And its like once she started to cry she just could not stop. I don't know how to explain it, except it was really hard.

But I can't even complain because my little Bug is alive and well. I was visiting a friend's little girl who is staying at Primary's and it just brought back sooo many memories being there at the hospital. It also made me count my blessings...and you know what?? I have A LOT of blessings!!! :) Sorry, I'm not trying to make this into a brag blog! I just feel like I am one lucky/blessed gal.

I feel like Livie and myself are at a really good place in life :)

I have some AMAZING people in my life, an AWESOME family and one INCREDIBLE little girl AND a job I love!!
Seriously, what more could I ask for?!? :)

Happy Birthday, Bug!!!! I'm so glad I get to be your mommy!

Haha love her face

Livie's most favorite person ever...Gma!!!

Livie got a Hello Kitty bike for her Bday!!! :)

Auntie Ashley made the cake :)

Flying kites!!

Just a farm girl at heart

2010-04-27T15:03:00.021-06:00

Idaho will always be my home, its where I grew up and I personally think I had one of the best childhood's ever :) I absolutely loved growing up on a farm, okay okay so at the time I might not have loved it...I thought my dad was so mean to make me go out and do chores all the time, especially when I was in high school, my dad was seriously trying to put a damper on my social life. Haha ;)
But, as I've gotten older I have cherished my farm memories and have actually gotten really homesick for life on the farm.
Even though I don't live all that far away, I still don't make it home very often. So a couple weeks ago I made the drive home and it was seriously so good to be 'back home.' I always love seeing my family and it was so good to be back in Idaho.
I never thought I'd say this, but putting on my rubber boots to go out and do chores never felt so good!!! (Now hopefully my dad doesn't get wind of this or he'll try to talk me into coming home to pick rock!! haha) Sheep herd 2010 Visiting the sheep herd My baby brother...who is not a baby anymore. I can't beleive how much he has grown up, especially since Logan has been gone on his mission. Caleb has def stepped up to the plate and become my Dad's 2nd in command. I don't know what my Dad would do without Caleb's help :) My spunky lil Livie Jo!! This picture is cropped for obvioius reasons, haha I was so excited to pull a lamb! Seriously though... The boss man And of course it wouldn't be home without the cows... Feeding calves

Not for the weary or weak, haha. Some live footage of lamb pulling... ;)

Because I am a such a bad blogger...

2010-04-07T03:34:00.014-06:00

Here are a few pics of what we've been up to:

Bowling!! Livie seriously LOVE's to get her bowl on...and maybe she's even beat my score once or twice... ;)

I just love her so much. She really is my lil buddy

Too cute!! :)

So when you ask Liv what she wants to be when she grows up she says.... a ROCKSTAR!! She's practicing her talent on my chairs...

Best little buddies

Haha, this girl seriously cracks me up every day...I don't even know where she comes up with half the stuff she says!

Grandpa Great's birthday bash

Love her lil belly...there was a lot of food there okay ;)

Mommy and Livie Bug :)

My sister, Ashley

2010-01-19T11:52:00.027-07:00

Ashley and I aren't even 2 years apart...and growing up we didn't exactly...see eye to eye, haha! Don't get me wrong, I have fond 'growing up memories' with her, but I think because we were so close in age and have such different personalities we argued a lot. My mom would always tell me, "Some day when you guys are grown up and don't live by each other you are going to miss each other and wish you were nicer to each other!"

Well, turns out my mother was right.

As Ash and I got older we realized that we actually quite liked each other and...even had fun with each other, gasp!!! ;)

When I was going through my divorce it was a really hard time for me. Ashley lived here in Utah at the time, but I remeber she was always there for me. She would even come home to Idaho on the weekends and stay with me. She helped me through some really difficult times. Through all of this Ash and I became really close. She is not only my sister, but she became my confident and best friend.

Now, I live in Utah...and I live with Ashley. I know it can't be easy for her to live with me and my little girl. Ashley really is like a second mom to Alyvia. Ash watches/sleeps with Livie when I work nights. Ash also plays with Livie and gives me a breather when she knows I am getting stressed or just 'having one of those days.' I know Ash has had to sacrifice some things for Livie and me.

I just want my sister to know how much I appreciate her. I really could not do it without her help.
Livie loves 'her Ashely.' And I don't even think Ash realizes what an impact she is having on Livie's life. Or mine. Thank you, Ashely!!! Thank you for being a good example and for all you do for us!!
So here's to my sister and my best friend, I love you, oyster!!! :)

Our first day of school: first and second grade

Haha, all I can say is wow, check out that hair!!

Ashley as a blondie!!

2006 (haha, no we do not have perms, our hair is just naturally curly..aka fro-y!! ;)

Ashley visiting us in B-town

Summer time 2006

4/08 I got to go on a cruise with my sister, it was an awesome experience!! As you can tell by my face, I am scared to death and Ash was just laughing her head off, she LOVES heights!!!

We went to Mexico, it was beautiful!!

09, some LV action. Ash's feet were hurting so I did what any big sis would do and gave her a lift ;)

5/09 Livie's 4th B-day!!

Running the 5K together for Brain Injury...and yes, we did actually finish :)

Summer time playtime!! 09

Halloween!!

Livie loves 'Her Ashley' and wanted to dress just like her

Some sisterly love going on here :)

I'm pretty dang lucky I have Ash for a sis!!!

Christmas Eve 09

Most recent "fam picture" Jan-2010 Getting in on some bowling fun for FHE

haha, sorry for the pic overload!!

'Ketchup'...

2010-01-12T12:20:00.022-07:00

Just trying to get caught up from the holidays!
We went home to Idaho for Christmas and it was soooo nice!! I definitely miss home sometimes. It was so good to see the fam and just hang out, eat delicious food and spend time with each other. This really was one of my most favorite Christmas' because it was simple, but so good to be home with each other.
Family really is everything!! I am so thankful I have such an amazing, loving family that always has fun just being together :)

(I lost my camera so I don't have any pics of Liv opening presents Christmas morning :( or of the boys dirt bike riding in Mesquite...but I think I got everything else in between...)

Phillips Christmas eve partay...Little miss Livie Bug and her Gramma and Pappa

Us girls in our matching jammies on Christmas eve

The whole fam bam...minus Logan who's serving a mission, but he'll be home next year!...in our matching pj's!

Mesquite!!!!! We were able to take a small family trip to Mesquite right after Christmas to go dirt bike riding...it was sooo much fun!! I used to always say how dangerous dirt bikes are, but now that I've gone riding a few times its so much fun...and addicting, haha!! We all had a really good time. It is still dangerous, though...my poor momma had a little incident and came home with a walker... however, she wasn't on a dirt bike and did happen to be on flat ground...what a wild woman!! ;) Glad you're okay, Mom!!

*SisterS* in our matching Christmas attire.. ;)

The girls!! Getting down and dirty dirt bike riding during the day...and then getting dressed up at night... :)

My beautiful Momma-cita. Thanks for all your hard work in making the holidays such a wonderful time, we appreciate ALL you do for us!!! The house definitely could not run with out you! Love you, mom!!

These were the cutest little boys ever!!!

There were 4 boys in all...I think Livie had finally met her match!! ;)

We were able to go and stay at a cabin in Bear Lake...loved it!!

Livie Bug and her best little buddy making a gingerbread house

More Christmas festivities with my Bug

Thanksgiving...we were giving our famous "stink eye!!" haha

And last, but not least...all us girls went to see the much buzzed about film, Twilight!!!!

Adoption

2009-12-01T11:53:00.008-07:00

I'm trying to get caught up on some of my posting, theres a few new posts before this one and I've been meaning to post this for a while now...
I personally have never been in this postion, and can only imagine how hard and trying it must be, but I've seen how infertility has affected some of my close friends.

I've also seen the miracle of adoption, I was able to see my best friend from home and her husband finally be able to start their own eternal family through adoption :)

I am hoping that by posting this on my blog maybe the word will get out and be passed along and who knows, maybe the right person will hear about it...

Kendall and Katy are looking to adopt and add to their little family. They really are amazing people with an adorable little girl who really wants to be a big sister some day. If you have a minute, please check out their blog here
and please pass the word along :)

2 years....

2009-12-01T10:41:00.016-07:00

and tumor free!!!! Yay Livie!! :)
Alyvia just had her MRI the day before Thanksgiving...I was sickly nervous, it is out of my hands, but I always worry, its always in the back of my mind, what if...what if the tumor comes back? However, her MRI looked great!! What a great reminder especially around Thanksgiving time of just how much I have to be thankful for. Most of all my healthy little girl :)

There is a little girl in Livie's preschool class whom we have gotten to know. Her name is Maryn, she is 4 years old as and she has a tumor in the same place Livie's was- the brain stem.
This little girl's tumor is not operable. Most tumors in the brain stem are inoperable...radiation does not kill these fast growing tumors, it can only buy her a little more time here on Earth. Maryn is getting sicker and weaker each day. It breaks my heart to watch her slowly dying from this brain tumor. Maryn's mom is not giving up hope yet, though. You can visit Maryn's blog here
Since this touches so close to home for me I can't help but wonder why... Why Livie is still here, especially when the odds were not in her favor at all. She beat all the odds, though, and she really is a miracle. I am SO SO grateful and thankful to my Father in Heaven that she is still here, that she is healthy and doing well.
I don't know what the future holds for Livie, for Maryn, for anyone, but I know we have to have faith and find the simple joy in every day life. Because life is crazy and you just never know what will happen.

I am so glad that I've gotten to spend as much time with Livie that I have, I've been very blessed in that I get to bring her to work with me and then I work some graveyard shifts so I can still be home with Livie during the day. The mother/daughter bond we have is amazing and I just love this little girl's spunk, she definitely tests my patience at times, she is quite the little fireball, but I sure do love you, Livie bug!!! Thanks for being my girl :)
.......................................................................................................
RECAP of Halloween:
(better late than never, right ;)

Carving/painting pumpkins (Livie was totally grossed out by the pumpkin guts so we decided to paint one instead)

Haha love her face!

Finished product

Feeding the geese

Halloween!! Livie was a fairy princess...and yes, she pulls these faces and throws up a peace sign for every picture...

Ha, look at that face...

My sweet little fairy

At preschool with Livie

Livie talk

2009-10-27T23:01:00.007-06:00

Livie says the dangest things. I'm not even sure where she gets some of the stuff she says...
I love listening to her talk. She's always been very talkative and good at communicating. I still like it when she pronounces things wrong, like Christmas Eve is "Christmas Steve" and she still uses the phrase, "I'm are," haha, love it. And she still calls me mommy. I super love that.

Alyvia also starts so many of her sentences with "The thing is..."
"The thing is I don't really want to eat that for dinner mommy..."
Haha, she sounds so grown up, I swear she is 4 going on 14!

So the other day Livie got a new baby doll, when I asked her what her baby's name was, she replied, "Peach Hole."
Wow, that just sounds bad, haha and I have no idea how she came up with this. I have since tried to get her to change the name to something else...anything else, but Peach Hole it is.

Livie is also really using her imagination lately, she has an imaginary pet puppy, actually 2 pet puppies and 1 pet kitty. The other day as we were getting in the car to leave Livie starts SCREAMING, I'm thinking she's shut her finger in the door or rolled a body part up in the window, something horrible to cause that kind of screaming...no, we just forget to bring the pets with us...that's right, the imaginary pets. So we have to get out of the car, hike up the 3 flights of stairs to our condo, unlock the door and grab Livie's pets.
Now every time we leave I make sure not to forget the imaginary pets.

Then today, as Livie and I were in the bath tub bathing, I felt something warm trickling down my back, I turn around to see my child standing up peeing on me.
Me- Livie, Oh my gosh, you just peed all over me!!!!
Livie- No, mom, I just peed SOME over you.

(Guess she's much more critical with her words than I am. Whatever, she still PEED on me!!!)

Then the other day I couldn't find Livie, I was calling for her throughout the house and I started to get panicky when I still couldn't find her. She finally steps in from being out on the balcony.
Livie- Mom, I'm just right here.
Me- I couldn't find you, I was started to get worried, Livie.
Livie- Oh, well don't worry, the wind didn't blow me away, I'm still here.
(Haha, like the wind could blow her away ;) Silly girl

And then of course you have to love kids for their honesty.
Like when we were at Walmart in the exchange/return line and Livie pointed to a lady there and said, "Look mom, that lady has a baby in her tummy." And because Livie kept saying this pretty loudly, that 'pregnant' lady informed us that she did NOT have a baby in her tummy, but was just fat. So Livie agrees and says, "Yeah, you are fat."
Talk about mortification. My bright red face and I turned around and left Walmart as fast as we could!!

Or...when I ask my child if she thinks I'm the prettiest mommy ever and she replies, "Well, not today mommy." Haha, thanks Livie, that was not the answer I was looking for, though ;)

I sure love my wild, little Livie bug. She can definitely be a stinker, but she also makes me smile every day!! :)

P is for Powell

2009-10-08T18:56:00.005-06:00

We just took our family vacay to Lake Powell. I love it there!! The weather was great and we had a blast there!! (We did miss our bro, Logan, who is in Tx on his mission, but he'll be back for next summer's trip :)

More Summer fun!!

2009-09-01T18:16:00.016-06:00

My family came and stayed with us for a few days. It was so fun to have them here. We acted like "tourists" and went and visited some fun places. It was a full house with good food (thanks mom) and good company with all 7 of us here (We can't wait for Logan to be home next year with us too) It was a crazy, fun few days and I was sad to see them go. We def have some really fun times together as a family. I might be a little bias, but I think I have the best family ever!! :)

My sibs and Liv

My beautiful sisters and Momma

Aerospace museum

Showing off the aircrafts

Some of the fam, Ash was at work :(

Bingham copper mine:

My little, big brother and I

Papa and Livie

SISTERS!!!

Us girls by one of the massive tires they use at the mine.

Summer fun

2009-09-01T17:40:00.015-06:00

Phillips Fam Reunion!!!

Every summer we have our annual Phillips family reunion and every year I look forward to it! We have a very large, close, fun family! I love all the memories that are made each year at these reunions.

Livie lovin on Gma

Love Livie's face!!

Going for a boat ride...

And maybe the ol 1969 boat still beat us!! ;)

Sunday program

Ohhh, this is just Liv beating up Uncle Caleb and attacking him with a shoe... it was all part of a skit, I swear!!

Random pics:

BUSTED!!! Someone's been in Mom's chocolate!!

Alyvia and her best lil bud Violet

Landon's britches

2009-08-03T18:05:00.004-06:00

Livie has a book full of nursery rhymes that she loves looking at. She's really into nursery rhymes right now.

When we got to the London Bridges page Livie proudly belted it out...

LANDON'S BRITCHES falling down, falling down, falling down,
Landon's britches falling down, my fair lady!!!!

Haha!! love this silly girl!! And really, if you think about it, "Landon's britches" does seem to make more sense in that song! ;)

Randoms...

2009-07-22T16:59:00.035-06:00

Here are just some random pics of what we've been up to. Its been a very busy summer, but also lots of fun too!! (:

Playing on the playground

Gardner Village

Bees game

My lil sassy pants!!

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Swimming at our pool, aka: Livie's fave past time!

Playing dress up with the girls

This is how she brushes her teeth every night, haha! At least her teeth are getting brushed, right...

Mom and her Bug

More dress up

5K for brain injury

2009-06-29T20:13:00.010-06:00

We did it!! We ran the 5K for the brain injury association of Utah (BIAU)

Now I am not a runner, I don't really like running...okay so maybe I sort of hate it, haha, but I'm so glad we did it. It was really awesome! Especially since we were doing it for a cause that has affected so many people, including my family and I... and super especially because we got to see Charlie Cooper and his family!!

Us girls getting ready to run

The adorable Charlie Cooper with his dad and one of our cool nurses from PCMC

....We finished!!

Okay, so we might not have come in first, or even 2nd or 3rd place, but we did it!!!

Gagoon... aka Lagoon!!!

2009-06-29T19:27:00.010-06:00

My best friends neice, Kassi, got to stay with us for 2 days and Livie loved having a playmate around. The girls were so cute together!! We got to do some fun things while Kassi was here... we swam, made cookies, went to a fun night at Hogle zoo and then last, but not least...we went to Gagoon -as Livie calls it! Aka Lagoon!!

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*Ahhhh, okay, so apparantly all that work and the slide show isn't working...lame!! Oh well, just click on view all images to see the pics.
Sorry!!

4!!!!

2009-05-29T09:16:00.016-06:00

ALYVIA IS 4!!!! Yes, you heard me right, my baby is 4 years old! How did this happen and where did the time go!?!
Livie had quite the celebration week...with a birthday party in Idaho and 2 more here, she really enjoyed herself.

We weren't just celebrating her birthday either....Livie had her MRI and she is tumor free, YAYAY!!! (she'll keep having MRI's every 4 months because those blasted tumors like to grow back) Not only was her MRI good news, but she 'passed' her other tests as well. Livie doesn't have blood clots in her brain and there is no signs of stroke. phew! What a blessing. It was a very good day at Primary's. (And we like those days!) Livie did have some breathing issues coming out of the anesthesia from the MRI, but nothing too big. I am just soooo thankful there was no sign of the tumor growing back.

As I reflect on the these 4 years of Livie's life, it is very hard not to get tears in my eyes. I know every mom says this, but I really do have one special little girl (: She has been through a lot and continues to amaze me with the things she has overcome.It is so fun to watch Livie grow up, to watch her learn and to see her fun personality. She also has quite the sense of humor and makes me smile everyday with the things she says and does.She has taught me a lot in the 4 years she's been here and there's not a day that goes by that I don't thank the Lord that Livie is still here with us.

Love you so much, Livie Bug!!! To the moon and back. And then some.

We went and played at a park for a little B-day party with some family and friends

Livie was LOVIN it!!

So cute!!

Happy Birthday Alyvia!!!

Thanks everyone for coming and for the fun memories made!! (:

Livie wanted her Papa to play in her new tent with her...so he did!! (:

I am on a blogging roll...

2009-05-01T09:02:00.002-06:00

We've been enjoying the nice weather and Livie has been able to have some fun play dates!

These 2 crack me up, they are so cute together!

Having fun at the aquarium

A little tuckered out

Mom and her girl!

Mom got to have a play date too!

Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-05-01T08:54:00.001-06:00

Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

I saw this on a friend's blog and loved it...
I've never done this before, but thought, what the heck.
You should try it too (: Who knows, maybe you'll win!!

Alyvia...

2009-04-24T18:25:00.022-06:00

Aw, this girl melts my heart.

Her heart tests came back and everything looks A- okay. Yay! She has another MRI coming up...I always get really nervous for the MRI, I really don't know what I would do if the tumor came back, aahhh. But its not going to!! I am using positive thinking! (:

Our Easter was fun! (Yeah, I'm aware Easter was a couple weeks ago....I'm kinda slow like that!) My mom and sister came down for Spring Break to see us and then we went back to Idaho for the rest of the weekend. We haven't been back home since we moved here so it was nice to see all the fam and celebrate with them!

Alyvia and her Grandma Phillips

My little poser!!

*sisters*

*more sisters* (My mom and Aunt)

Livie and her Granny Goose!

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Happy Easter!!!!!!!!!!

The eggs...

*The girls*

Easter Sunday (missing few fam memebers....)

The kids...minus 2 bros.

Finding Easter eggs

While we were home we got put to work on the farm...

Trapping the animals that are ruining the fields.

Mostly rats, but we did catch one stinky, rabid weasel

All in a days work...

2009-04-24T17:07:00.014-06:00

Life with Livie is never dull.

She sure loves to play and sing and talk (she's quite the talker...don't know who she inherited that from...hehe! ;) and ask questions about everything and...well...cry. She still cries quite a bit (still a part of the brain trauma) Some days are better than others and we are still having more better days than bad days, but Livie still has some pretty rough days where there is lots and lots of crying and still some passing out...like I said, never a dull moment here, haha. But Livie is slowly, but surely getting better and its days like this where I know Livie needs me and I'm SO grateful that I get to be home with her as much as I do...even if she is a crazy, little, stinker bug sometimes! (; I sure do love her!

Our days go something like this...

Having a Livie moment...crying...poor thing didn't get to have chocolate for breakfast. haha.

Later that day we went grocery shopping and as I was walking down the aisles grabbing food and what not, people were giggling as they walked past Livie and I...
Guess I need to pay more attention to my child because she was laying in the cart with her nose shoved through the bars making piglet oinks and snorts to everyone that walked past. Cute Liv...

Later that day, Livie climbed up on the countertop (a big no-no), tried to get herself a drink and fell in the sink and got stuck. I'm just glad she didn't fall off the counter!!!

That night, I found her in the curtains, like this...spinning herself in circles, wrapping herself up tighter and tighter...I got to her just before she pulled the curtain rod down on her...

Some where in there she also managed to get some hot pink nail polish on her nice bed comforter, I wasn't too thrilled about that one.

Whew!! A lot goes on all in a days work. My little Bug is one busy girl, but it just means she is healthy and well to be causing havoc like this, so I can't complain too much.

*Disclaimer: I swear I do watch my child and tend to her needs! Swear!! (:

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Tea, anyone??

Alyvia loves playing dress up and having tea parties

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WARNING: Picture content not for the weak stomach

We were at a funeral and Livie had to go potty (for the 3rd time) so I took her to the restroom and as we were leaving I flung the door open harder than I intended to and the bottom edge of the door caught her toe and toenail just right...cutting the skin and pulling the nail off. AAAAHHHH!! It was bleeding all over the place and Livie was SCREAMING until she passed out...

I felt like the worst mommy ever, I felt SOOO bad!!! After a few tears from both of us and a pink Dora band aid, everything is okay now.

The lambing sheds

2009-04-08T11:06:00.017-06:00

Livie got to go to the lambing sheds! When the ewe's start lambing (having their babies) this time of year, its a lot of fun to go walk through the sheds and see all the baby lambs. There are thousands of baby lambs being born, they are all legs and so *cute!!
(*I can only say this now, I didn't used to think baby lambs were so cute...You see, growing up we took in the baby bum lambs-the ones that lost their mother's. So we took them in and had to bottle feed them numerous times a day. Not so bad, you might be thinking...that is until your Dad makes you take in EVERY single bum lamb. 74 baby lambs to bottle feed gets a bit overwhelming!! I don't know how we (and 'we' mostly means my mom!) did it 3 times a day!! Haha, good times!! ;)

Livie didn't get to go to the lambing sheds last year due to her medical problems, so this year was fun, especially since her Grandma and Grandpa Phillips took her!

On her way to see the sheep

So cute!

Livie: Look, Grandma, the lambs are waving at me!!!
Grandma: Oh, they are wagging their tails...
Livie: Yeah, they are 'waving' at ME!

Letting the lamb suck on her finger

Thanks again, mom and dad, for taking Livie bug, she loved it!! (:

21 days?!

2009-03-19T14:36:00.032-06:00

Right after we came home from the hospital we received a heart monitor for Livie to wear. The cardiologist at Primary's who saw Livie had mentioned that she would need to wear one for a little while. She said we would receive one after we got home. I didn't think too much of it...

Then we received a big ol package in the mail...full of heart monitor stuff. Okay, no biggie, I'll get it figured out and put it on Livie...Um yeah right, I had to call the 1-800 support phone number more than once, but with their help I finally figured out how the monitor is supposed to work. Livie has to wear this monitor 24/7 and she has to have a cell phone (that reads the monitor) within 10 feet of her at ALL times. If the cell phone gets too far away from her or one of her heart leads isn't picking up a strong enough signal then the monitor goes off and starts beeping. Kind of a pain! The whole time I'm thinking, good thing Livie only has to do this for a couple days...until the man helping me on the phone says, hopefully the next 21 days go by quick for ya...
Um excuse me sir, but WHAT?! 21 DAYS?!?

Yep, Livie has to wear this at all times for 21 looong days...

Its not very big, just very touchy and beep-y!! But Livie loves that is comes with a cell phone that's constantly going off! (;

*little update: Livie's lungs are sounding a lot better, she still has some junk in them and she still has to use her breathing treatments, but hopefully when the weather warms up she won't have to use her breathing treatments so often.

We are really loving the new area we live in and now that Livie is feeling better we're finally getting out of the house (heart monitor and all!) and taking advantage of the nicer weather.

Livie is still sportin her pink high heels!!

This pic is from our last weekend when the girls came down to see Livie Bug. Gotta love Liv's face!!

Livie and Auntie Ashley

Now that we live a lot closer to Michele, we get to see her more often (:

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Happy Saint Patricks Day!!!!

Livie woke up to a breakfast of GREEN!! She thought it was pretty cool eating green waffles and green syrup!

Then we went to the park and played with some friends
Love my girl!

Home sweet home

2009-03-10T16:55:00.010-06:00

We are home and Livie is doing very well! We ended up spending 4 days at Priamary's and they let Livie go home with oxygen for night time.

It feels so good to be home! My mom and Livie's Aunt Shayla came down for the weekend and spoiled her, I think its just the medicine she needed (: She's bounced back very well.

Oh and we found a pediatrician, the doctor who treated Livie while we were at Primary's happens to be a pediatrician who happens to work at the clinic right by our house. And now he's familiar with Livie's extensive medical history. Perfect.

Livies G-ma got her some little play high heels...and Livie hasn't taken them off since. She LOVES them.

(Pay no mind to the spaghetti on Livie's face that her mom didn't wash off ;)

Posing with Aunt Shayla

Doing what Livie does best....EATING!! Yum!!

These are pics from Livie's last day at preschool in Idaho. She love love loved preschool!

Such a big girl!!

Stillll here!

2009-03-05T09:44:00.003-07:00

Livie didn't handle last night very well and had to be on oxygen the whole night and even with oxygen had a hard time keeping her SATs up. She did worse last night than the night before...silly Livie, doesn't she know she's supposed to be getting better so we can go home!?!
Livie had a long day yesterday, but did well with her breathing during the day, it's nighttime that really gets her.
We've gone home on oxygen before, but the doctor doesn't feel like Livie is even ready for that yet. She has been keeping the doctor on his toes, so he doesn't quite trust her, ha.
So while we're spending our days here at Primary's the Dr thought we should at least take care of some of those upcoming appointments Livie had scheduled, so yesterday Livie had her EEG, EKG and some other heart stuff done. It was a busy day, but glad we got so much done.

We're off to the bathtub right now, because just maybe I still haven't washed Livie's hair after all the EEG leads were glued in. (Her hair is a crazy mess, hopefully they keep de-tangler in stock here! ;)

Dang RSV!!

2009-03-04T11:36:00.003-07:00

Miss Livie bug is having a better day today, night time was a bit rough, but today is a little better breathing wise. She still can't go without oxygen when she's sleeping, but she's been off of it when she's awake...so that's a little progress, and we like progress (:

Livie is back on heavy doses of steroids...boo! They told me to expect the awful mood swings and lots of water retention that the lovely roids cause. She was just finally thinning out too from all the steroids she's been on in the past. Oh well, I'm not going to lie, I did love kissing her chubby little cheeks and pinching her cute, dimpled bum!! haha (;

The Dr. said we'll see how Livie handles tonight and go from there...

Oh no!!!

2009-03-03T23:34:00.005-07:00

Well, we have only been in Utah for 3 days and Alyvia decided to get acquainted with the hospital staff down here.
She got really sick today and it happened so fast. Her lungs were having a really hard time, she was wheezing so much she could barely breathe. Her breathing was so labored I decided to take her to the hospital closest to our house. We went to the ER, since she was struggling so much with breathing they got her in right away. Her oxygen was at 71 (it should be in the high 90's) They called respiratory in right away and did some breathing treatments and gave her some steroids and then tested her for RSV...sure enough she does indeed have RSV, dang it. And its really taken a toll on Livie's lungs since she's had lung disease.
Livie was still really struggling with breathing even after Respiratory worked on her. The doctor told me that Livie was really sick and needed to be admitted, especially with her history of lung disease (ARDS)
So off we went in the ambulance to be admitted to...Primary's!
And that's where we are now.
We don't love being at hospitals, but we sure do love the nurses here (: they always take really good care of Liv.

Right now Livie's SAT's are stabilized (phew) But the RSV is going to have to run its course and meanwhile Livie has to be on oxygen...so as long as she has to be on oxygen she has to be here in the hospital. I'm just hoping things don't get worse. Livie's had a rough day today, but she really is a trooper. One of the nurses even commented how before they saw Alyvia and received the admit for her they went through her extensive medical history and were expecting a little girl with a lot of handicaps and problems, not spunky little Liv!!! (:

Private blog?

2009-03-03T10:27:00.004-07:00

I was going to make our blog a private one, but I just realized you can only invite so many readers to view your blog. So then I would have to pick and choose who I wanted to invite to this blog...and from reading the comments I was so touched by all the people who love and care about Alyvia.
So rather than pick and choose, I will be leaving my blog open for now, sorry for the hassle!

**Quick update, we are all moved in, phew!! And really like our new place (:
Livie has a few upcoming appts at Primarys this month...
She saw her neurologist here, he was concerned about her hospital stays and wants to rule out whether or not Livie did indeed have a stroke, so she is scheduled for another MRI, ahhh. (This one will be a little different than her past MRI's so that they can see whether or not she has blood clots, but she'll still have to be put out with general anesthesia)
Then she needs an EEG (a bunch of wires put on her head and monitor her brain waves, this one's not too big a deal...more of a routine check up)
Then she needs to have a sleep study (another routine check up since she has central sleep apnea)
And lastly, Livie has an appt with a cardiologist....yes, a heart doctor. Another ahhh. Hopefully its not a big deal, Livie has some issues with her heart beat, she has every since she had brain surgery last year, but its getting slowly worse, so we're going to have it checked out and hopefully its nothing we really need to worry about.

So its going to be a busy month for us at Primary's...I sure am glad we live a lot closer now (:

Our journey

2009-02-27T12:57:00.003-07:00

My sister, Ashley, made this for me.
I think she titled it perfectly, what a journey it has been! There have been some rough times and some really great times too.

Livie and I are getting ready to start a new journey, we are moving to Utah this weekend. We are excited and looking forward to what the future has to offer!
As we start this new chapter in our lives, I decided that it is time to make my blog pivate. I want to invite anyone who is interested in keeping updated on Livie's health and progress. I know there are a lot of people who care about Alyvia and have been keeping up to date with her progress through this blog. We appreciate all the sweet comments left on the blog and wonderful support we have gotten from everyone this past year!!! So don't be shy, leave your email so I can send you an invite. (Even the followers I have only met through blogging, those who just take peaks at our blog here and there and even the blog stalkers, because, well, I stalk your blog too! ;)

All About Alyvia

2009-02-01T13:14:00.005-07:00

(Livie belting out her ABC's)

All About Alyvia...

*Alyvia is 3 1/2. I can't even belive how big she is, or where the time has gone. She's still my baby though! (;

*She really loves preschool and learns new things everyday

*She LOVES hearing fairy tales. Over and over and over again...

*She likes to sing.

*Her favorite snack: I wish I could say carrot sticks or broccoli...but she prefers fruit snacks or chocolate

*She loves playing with her baby dolls, its her favorite past time

*I love when she says cute things like 'aminals' or 'Christmas Steve'

*She hates taking a bath, she especially hates getting her hair washed...or brushed...

*She is very compassionate, especially to other sick children

*She is, well...not quiet. She loves to talk and ask questions. She def has a lot of spunk and personality (:

*She is smart, she surprises me with the things she knows and understands

*She's kinda short (; (She got my genes in that department, sorry Liv)

*Her name is spelled A-l-y via because I wanted to call her Aly for a nickname...yeah, it didn't stick. Guess she's just a Livie!

*Her favorite food is chicken nuggs...dipped in ranch, of course!!

*She still loves DORA!! I'm kind of wondering when she'll grow out of this...haha (;

*I absolutely love Livie's laugh. Its such a deep chortle!! It surprises/scares people someitmes, haha.(It didn't used to be like this before brain surgery, but her voice changed after the surgery which is common with brain surgery and being on a vent) I love her 'evil' little laugh, though, because its when she's REALLY lauging.

*Alyvia is very girlie and already has an eye for fashion (yes, I started training young) but she can also be quite the tom boy! I guess its good to have a little of both in ya, right.

So there ya have it, Alyvia in a nutshell. (:

Pretending to take a very important call on my cell phone...

Silly girl!!

Livie's little hospital stint

2009-01-22T21:39:00.007-07:00

Livie's been having a few problems lately, and Tues night she had a really bad episode that just suddenly came on out of no wehre, she couldn't talk, walk or see...she couldn't even function. It brought back all those memories from when we were at Primary's after her brain surgery...she was just like a little vegetable again.
Then her breathing started getting really labored and I couldn't get her to wake up...

I was definitely freaked out because I don't know what brought this on or how to get Livie 'back.' After Livie has seizures, she has a hard time coming back to and functioning normal, but I was right by her and I never saw her have a seizure. And this was far worse than I'd ever seen it before.

I called Livie's pediatriacian and he said to get to the ER ASAP. So off we went, back to the hospital. Livie was comatose/vegatable like (no mobility, shaking, sweating, can't even form a sentance, let alone a word, eyes can't focus and she keeps going in and out with really labored breathing) We kept trying to wake her up, to no avail. The docs were pretty stumped. The only things they could think of were that maybe she had a bad seizure- not like her usual ones and thats why she was having such a hard time (even though I never saw her have a seizure) or she had a drug overdose (from the dosage being too high on her seizure medication), or she had a stroke (she does have a history of blood clots). I'm definitely freaking out at this point. All we can do is wait...

After 7 hours of that Livie all the sudden opens her eyes, looks over at me, smiles and says "Mommy!"
Just like that and she 'woke up.' I know it was only 7 hours, 7 loooong hours, but I sure missed my Livie Bug!!!!
The thought of her staying like that forever....well, lets not even go there.

I was so happy to finally see recognition and awareness on her face! Such sweet relief!

So Livie ended up spening the night and next day at the hosptial. (I'm thinking she missed the awesome ER and 6th floor nurses there at Portneuf. They really are great nurses and so good to her.) I told her she doesn't need to have any more episodes, we'll just stop in as visitors, not patients, and see them instead! Hopefully she agrees to this! (;

No one can figure out why Livie had this big episode. With all the brain truama she has had, its hard to diagnose what causes what. One concern is her seizure medication. She is on a lot higher dose (of trileptal) and too much can actually cause a seizure and problems similar to this. So if anyone has any advice on seizure meds I would love to hear it.

We are happy to be home. Its taken Livie a little while to bounce back, she is still not 100%, the doctor said it might take a few days, but she's getting there (:

Once again I am reminded at how lucky I am that Livie has come out of all this alright.
And for this sweet, little girl in my life!! (:

MRI

2009-01-11T14:06:00.004-07:00

Alyvia has been having some 'episodes' lately where she'll just all the sudden loose her vision. She'll be fine one minute and then the next she can't see anything. At first it just happened once, but then it started happening more and one day it happened 5 or 6 times throughout the day...I was definitely bothered by this and so were the doctors, especially since Livie has been having more seizures lately. The doctor's biggest concern was whether or not the tumor was growing back or if there was scar tissue from where they removed the tumor that was causing these problems. My biggest fear is the tumor coming back. So when Livie started having these problems I was worried sick about it...
We headed down to Primary's and Livie had another MRI. She has to be put out with general anesthesia (GA) for an MRI instead of just regular sedation because for some reason the regular sedation makes her stop breathing...which isn't very fun! ha.

Livie did really well this time with the GA, this was her best time yet, I was so happy things went so well...and then I had to talk to the radiologist about what he saw on the MRI, I was SOOO nervous.........
He said the MRI looked unchanged since her last one and that there was NO sign of a tumor. She does have scar tissue by the cerebellum, but it is minimal. So in a nutshell, Livie passed!! The MRI looked good! PHEW!!!! I am so happy and relieved that there's no tumor!!!!

Since Livie has been loosing her vision, though, we had other appts throughout the day and one of the appts was with an opthamologist. He tested Livies eyes and said they are...... GOOD!! He said they appear healthy and she see's as a normal child should!! Another PHEW!! Especially since Livie did have cortical blindness when we came home from the hospital a year ago. She had her eyes tested then and they did not find any permanent damage (thank goodness!) but they were slow to respond and there was some misfiring caused from all the brain trauma she had...

So I was REALLY happy and thankful this weekend when Livie passed her MRI and her eye tests. What a blessing (:

Because no one knows why Livie is having the episodes she's been having, her neurosurgeon said we'll have to follow up with a neurologist, but he said her brain scan looked good (Yippie!)He can't explain why she looses her vision except that perhaps with all the brain trauma Livie suffered, sometimes her brain still misfires and causes these things to happen. The brain is so complex that who knows?? What I do know is that I'm SO grateful Livie is doing as well as she is and that there is no sign of a tumor. I know the tumor could come back at any time, I hate having that nagging thought in the back of my mind, the what if's. But I guess none of us really know. Life is a precious gift that, sadly, can be taken from anyone at anytime. We have to live each day as it comes and I am definitely very thankful for each day I have with my Livie Bug!! What a wonderful start to 2009, hopefully this is a sign that this year is going to be a good, healthy year for us! (:

**I learn more and more about brain tumors everyday. When we first found out Livie had a tumor in her brain stem I hardly knew anything about brain tumors except that they were bad. I have since learned a lot more about them and thought it might be interesting posting some facts about them...

First, what does the brain stem do??-The brain stem is in charge of all the functions your body needs to stay alive, like breathing air, digesting food, and circulating blood.Part of the brain stem's job is to control your involuntary muscles - the ones that work automatically, without you even thinking about it. There are involuntary muscles in the heart and stomach, and it's the brain stem that tells your heart to pump more blood when you're biking or your stomach to start digesting your lunch. The brain stem also sorts through the millions of messages that the brain and the rest of the body send back and forth.

*Livie's tumor was located in the brain stem underneath the cerebellum, when the neurosurgeon operated on it, he said he had to lift up the cerebellum in order to get to her tumor.

**Brain Tumor Facts
About Brain Tumors
-A brain tumor is a cluster of abnormal cells growing in the brain (in Livie's case, the brain stem) caused by cells reproducing themselves in an uncontrolled manner.

-There are more than 120 different types of brain tumors; some are malignant (cancer), many are benign (non-cancerous).

-Brain tumors are difficult to diagnose; their symptoms often mimic other diseases.

-Brain tumors are the leading cause of solid tumor cancer death in children under the age of 20.

-Standard treatments include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

-Because of their location, most brain stem tumors are inoperable. **We are SO lucky that Livie's was able to be operated on.
-Most brain stem tumors are malignant (cancerous)

-The cause of brain tumors is unknown.

-Often, the damage done by brain tumors is due to their size. Because the skull is bone, it cannot expand to make room for even a small mass growing within it. As a result, the tumor presses on and displaces normal brain tissue. This pressure may damage or destroy delicate brain tissue. Many of the symptoms of a brain tumor are caused by this pressure. Sometimes, a tumor may cause blockage of fluid that flows around and through the brain. This blockage can also create increased pressure. **The very first time we saw Livie's neurosurgeon, he said that she had so much pressure from the tumor blocking her spinal fluid that he would have only given her 2 more weeks to live before she would have died from it.

-A benign growth may become malignant (cancerous). In some tumors, a lower-grade tumor may recur as a higher-grade tumor. **Livie's tumor was low grade.

-Tumor grade indicates the degree of malignancy

-Brain stem tumors make up 10-15% of tumors

-Operating on the brain stem is very risky because it controls so many functions

-More knowledge about brain tumors has been gained in the last ten years than in the past hundred years.

Jingle Bells

2009-01-05T16:51:00.015-07:00

We had a good Christmas. Livie was so excited that, even though, we were at Grandma's house Santa still found us!

Christmas Eve par-tay

Livie's first reaction after she came upstairs and found all the presents Santa left. She kept saying, "I just can't believe this!!"

We always get matching pj's from Santa :) And of course, while we stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house we got to help out with farm chores!!

I'm going to miss the Christmas spirit that December brings...and just maybe I'm also going to miss threatening Livie that she better behave or she'll get a lump of coal from Santa, haha. I know, thats horrible of me, but it totally worked on her!!

It was a lof of fun watching Livie get excited about Christmas, it really was like a first Christmas for her and it turned out to be a great one!!

Blessings

2008-12-22T20:05:00.009-07:00

I am very thankful for this time of year. I love Christmas time and the spirit it brings.
This is kind of like Livie's first Christmas...last year we had just gotten home from the hospital and she wasn't able to do much, she couldn't see and her brain still wasn't working, and the year before that she was too little to really understand what was going on.
So this year has been a lot of fun watching her get excited for Santa to come and teaching her the real reason we celebrate Christmas- Christ's birth.

I am sooooo thankful that Livie is here to celebrate this Christmas with us. I am thankful for all the progress she has made in just a year. She's been through a lot this past year and Livie has grown up so much.
It has been a very hard year for Livie and me.
I have been faced with circumstances that I never, ever imagined I would be faced with. And because of it I've had to make some very hard decisions.
Even though its been a crazy year, I feel like I have grown so much and learned a lot. Without the bad you can't experience the good and I have been very blessed to experience the good. Alyvia really is my biggest blessing. Because of everything we've gone though I feel like we have a very close, special bond. She has an amazing spirit I'm so grateful Heavenly Father chose me to be her mother.

I am also thankful for all the love and support we have gotten from everyone this past year. THANK YOU.

I try to stay positive, but sometimes I feel a little frustrated and down with some of the things that have happened, so then I count my blessings and realize that I really am very blessed. I wanted to list some of my blessings:

10. Family. I have an awesome, loving family. Including both my mom's and my dad's side.

9. My brother, Logan, who is serving a mission right now.

8. My friends. I have some really great friends, especially from my old ward out in Groveland, they are amazing people.

7. The scriptures. They contain so much history and really are the word of God.

6. The power of prayer.

5. Modern technology

4. I know I already said family, but... my parents. I am close with both my mom and dad. I'm thankful for all they've taught me. They are both incredible people.

3. My testimony. It has definitely been tested this past year, but has really grown as I've depended on it.

2. My sweet Livie bug! She is my greatest joy.

1. Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I hope that everyone has a MeRry ChRistMas!!! And here's to the new year, may it bring us all good health and happiness!!

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This last weekend we had a Christmas party (a private party at Rumbi's grill, it turned out really cool) with my mom's side of the family. We don't see each other a lot so it was fun seeing everyone. And I could never find Livie because she was always off playing with one of the cousins. Which she used to never do, she used to always be glued to my side, so it was nice seeing her playing with the kids :)

Goofy family picture

Phillips family, minus Jojo...Ashley...oh and Logan too. haha, we're looking kind of small!

Thanksgiving Recap

2008-12-15T11:19:00.027-07:00

I am a little slow in posting this...

We had a great Thanksgiving with the Phillips family. I love coming from such a big, close knit family!!

My sister stayed with me over the weekend, it was great having her around

Granny Goose came to our Thanksgiving feast. Livie LOVES her Granny Goose!

Livie loves playing with her little cousin

Mom and her Livie bug!!!

Then over the weekend, we had to go see the much talked about film...Twilight. 'Us girls' went, we had a good time!

THEN...My sisters and I, Livie and our other 'fourth sister' Kassidee, went shopping in SLC. We made a girl trip of it and had a lot of fun!!!!

My beautiful sisters!

We went and ate at the Melting Pot, it was delish!! I had never been there before. Its a really cool place with lots of yummy fondue and REALLY good dessert!!

*siSters! beSt friends!!

We also went to the Mayan and ate there (another first for me)

It was another really cool place to eat at. They have cliff divers (who just may happen to be buff, scantily clad men diving and doing cool tricks off the cliff... what's not to love there ;) hehe

Livie thought Carl's Jr's was the best place to eat at since they had a play pen and since she got her mom to go inside it with her!!

All in all, we had a great Thanksgiving/weekend, spent with family, friends, food and fun times!!

Better!!

2008-12-10T19:46:00.005-07:00

Sorry its taken a while to update... First I want to say thank you for all the love and support, it means more than any of you will ever know(: Livie is doing much better, luckily we had a short hospital stay. Livie has continued to have an on and off fever, but no more seizures (thank goodness!) All her lab work came back negative...so we don't really know what she's fighting. The Dr's biggest concerns are the spinal meningitis or the brain tumor, luckily it doesn't look like either of those two are coming back.

We are just happy to be home! I am keeping Livie cooped up in the house for awhile until she's completely over whatever she has. She's not loving it, but because she has a weak immune system she seems to pick up every bug, so we're just being careful and laying low...and watching lots and lots of Dora!!! (:

Seizures...

2008-12-03T12:00:00.015-07:00

Yesterday started off as a good day, I even ran into a few people who asked about Livie and her health and I told them that she is not 100%, and she may never be, but she is pretty darn close. She is doing very well, especially as of lately. Well...I think I may have jinxed us. Right after that Livie had a seizure (she hadn't had one for 6 months) and she had a really hard time coming out of the seizure. For some reason when Livie seizes, she stops breathing (something else that had
really been improving) Even after she came to and started breathing on her own, her eyes were still deviated and she couldn't speak or walk, it took quite a bit of time for her to come out of it.
And even then she just wasn't acting right. I didn't have a very good feeling about things...

A little while later after Livie fell asleep she woke up and started acting...crazy. She was not making sense. She started twitching and acting incoherent, yet she could talk and sit up. Right as I decided I needed to take her to the ER Livie had another seizure, one like she's never ever had before. It was one of her worst ones, it was awful. She went unconscious and stopped breathing. I couldn't get her to come to. Now as bad as this sounds, I am used to seeing my child stop breathing and pass out, she usually starts to breathe on her own as she comes to, especially if I give her a few breaths. But this was not the case this time. I just knew something wasn't right. Livie was unconscious and not breathing for quite some time, panic started to set in. Nothing was working, I could NOT get Livie to come back. I was in a full panic, I called 911 and they dispatched an ambulance, meanwhile I was giving Livie mouth to mouth. She just laid there, purple, unmoving and so lifeless. I got that horrible, awful feeling that is every mother's worst nightmare...I honestly thought my sweet girl was going to die.
And I didn't know how to save her.

Finally, after what felt like hours, for some reason- I like to call it God, Livie sucked in one deep breath of air!!! It was one of the happiest moments of my life. She only took that one breath of air, but it was enough for me.

Needless to say, Livie got her very first ambulance ride (who would have thought with all her medical history she's never had an ambulance ride!) to Portneuf (I decided to go there since my, er, experiences with Bingham have not been great to say the least. I wasn't let down, I was very happy with Portneuf and their nurses, they did a great job!)

Alyvia's been in the hospital since. She's had a fever of 104.8. But with lots of tylenol and motrin we're trying to keep the fever down and figure out whats causing the fever, hopefully nothing too serious. (If the seizures keep up then Livie will have another MRI done) The Dr said that in dealing with an uncommon child like Livie and her extensive medical history, it would be best to keep her for a while and observe her. He didn't like that she had 2 seizures back to back. I didn't like any of it.

So Livie's in the hospital recuperating and so far she is doing good. Hopefully we'll get to go home later today, as long as there's no more seizures.

It was a scary night last night and once again I'm reminded just how fragile life really is. I am so grateful for all the progress Livie has made. Even though she has done so well, her brain is still not healed 100% perhaps it never will be, but I cannot complain, Livie has made leaps and bounds of progress this past year, more than any of the doctors thought she ever could. She really is my miracle. I do not know what I would do without her, she is my life and light. I love her sooooo crazy much. And I am so thankful that she is still here with me.

A little of this...a little of that

2008-11-18T19:12:00.021-07:00

We have been tagged...
Tag!

The rules are-
1.Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2.Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3.Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok here we go, Tara tagged me....and since this blog is pretty much for Livie, I'll do half of it with my weird quirks and the other half with her weird quirks.

Megan:
1. I absolutely HATE spiders and creepy crawly things, but I have a weird fascination with snakes and lizards. I would love to have a pet snake. (My brother and sister do and snakes actually make great pets!! ;)

Cute little lizard we found at Lake Powell

Playing with Shayla's pet snake, Billy Bob

2. I don't ever, ever drink soda pop. Simply because I don't like it, I never have. It hurts my tummy.

3. I have to have my toe nails painted at all times. Not my finger nails, just my toe nails. I don't know why, I just cannot go without toe nail polish, my toes just feel naked without it.

Alyvia:
4. Livie has a blanket that her Grandma Phillips gave to her when she was just a small baby. This blanket has turned into her lovey and we don't go anywhere without it. Livie sleeps with it every night and takes it with her everywhere we go.

5. Every night to get Livie to go to sleep (haha, yes, she still sleeps with me)I have to hold her knee. That's right, her knee. I have to 'hold it tight' until she falls asleep, she'll even wake up in the night telling me to hold her knee. I don't know why she likes me to hold her knee, but she does.

6. Livie does NOT like it when things move...like the curtains or blinds, she freaks out and starts crying. Even the necklace hanging off my rear view mirror, if I turn a corner and the necklace moves, Livie screams.

7. Last, but not least, okay I will admit it, Livie kind of has some OCD going on...she has to put her toys in the correct spot every time, whether its on the closet or on her bed, it has to be in the exact right spot every time. Every night she goes into her room to make sure everything is in its correct spot and if its not than she'll put it where it goes. If you try to stop her, she has the ultimate freak out.

Now I tag: Katie S, the Gray gang, Cassie H, Skylin H, Meggan B, Steff C and Emily W.

Another Tag!!
Here are the rules:
1. Go to your pictures.
2. Upload the 4th photo from the 4th folder.
3. Post (explain?)
4. Tag your friends.

I love this picture!! This is Livie and her uncle Caleb (my little bro)on our family vacay at Lake Powell. I love that she is holding his shorts, and her little cheeks hanging out are pretty cute too!! (;

Now I tag Summer D, Erin D, Jenny C, Sheyann B, and Becky S

Well we haven't been up to too much lately...
Livie has been LOVING preschool. She goes twice a week and looks forward to it all week long. She is the youngest one in her class, but she keeps up with all the other kids. I'm very proud of her. She has learned her ABC's and knows all her colors now. Its so fun to watch her learn and grow, but kind of sad at the same time too...my baby isn't a baby anymore. When did she get so big?!!

Livie's first day of preschool

My big preschool girl!

We also went to my Uncle's 50th surprise birthday party. It was a lot of fun and Livie found some little cousins to play with. This was a big step for Livie because she's always been too needy and shy to go play on her own. I've always had to just hold her. But she played and loved every minute of it.

Livie and her cousin, Jadey.

Haha, silly girls!!

My sis and I

Livie, Jadey and Jordyn

My cousin, Andrea, and I

Halloweenie!!

2008-11-06T12:22:00.008-07:00

We had a pretty fun Halloween this year, Livie had a Halloween party at preschool and then we went trunk or treating. She thought it was pretty cool that she got SO much candy!!

My cute little witch!

Rawr!! (She was scaring me)

Love my lit witch!

Par-tay!!

2008-10-14T13:45:00.007-06:00

The fam!! (Minus Jojo and Logan, who is serving a mission)

A couple weekends ago we had the opportunity to go to Lake Powell for a family vacation. It was sooo much fun!! We had a really good time together, I'm so glad we were able to go.

At Lake Powell, while I watched Livie playing on the beach, laughing and building sand castles, it was hard for me to believe that one year ago Livie was in the hospital having the fight of her life. This last month has definitely brought back a mix of emotions.... Last September finding the brain tumor, then having complications from brain surgery and then watching Livie get as sick as she got. As long as I live I will never, ever forget the moment the Dr's told me they had done everything in their power to help my little girl, but she was just too sick and she was most likely not going to make it through the night. I think that's every mother's worst night mare. I just remember holding onto my very sick, sweet baby's hand and pouring my heart out to God. I would have done ANYTHING for her to get better. I would have traded places with her in a heart beat. I think that's what being a mother does to you, it teaches you true, unconditional love.

A year ago today, as I was staying at the hosptital with Alyvia not knowing what the future was going to hold for us. It was a very emotional, hard time. One of the hardest things I've ever been through, but I was also able to witness some really incredible things. I was able to meet some truly incredible people and we had some of the most incredible support being poured out from family, friends, and even strangers. I was able to witness miracles that I know came straight from God.

One year ago today, Livie was one of the sickest kids in the PICU at Primary's.

Looking at her now, you would never know.

Looking back at this past year helped me remember that I definitely have a lot to be grateful for!!

(So, maybe I took a LOT of pics at Powell, I had so many pictures I decided to make a slide show.)

Tags!!

2008-09-23T14:56:00.003-06:00

Tagged
Favorite person (outside family): My bestie, Michele Hillman!! We are a lot alike and always have so much fun together!! She is a true friend and has always been there for me! Love ya Mish!!

Favorite food: I like everything!! Haha, its kind of a problem!! I love burgers, I like salads, and I love Italian food!! There's really not a lot I don't like.

Quirks: Umm, I HATE wearing socks! I don't know why. Sometimes in the winter I will even wear my shoes without socks!! Haha, gross, I know!

How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? I think Livie probly loves me the most... hopefully she would say I'm a good mommy who would do anything for her.

Any regrets in life? I wish I didn't mess around so much in college and took it a little more serious.

Favorite Charity/Cause: Primary Children's Medical Center...Because after spending months there with Livie, I got attached to a lot of the patients and family there. Many of them didn't have insurance or their insurance ran out because their kids were so sick. I think any sick child deserves the help to get better.

Favorite Blog recently? I don't know, I hardly ever blog or blog stalk anymore!! Bummer!

Something you can't get enough of: I agree with you Brenna....SHOES!!! I love em! A girl can never have too many shoes!!

Worst job you’ve ever had: Potato harvest!!!

What job would you pay NOT to have? Uhhh...a sewer cleaner!! Haha, I don't know!

Favorite Bible verse right now? Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.

Guilty Pleasure: Taking a hot bath or reading a good book. Or sleeping in, I LOVE to sleep!!

Got any confessions? I hate fake nails!! I don't know why, but they kind of gross me out. I don't mind the shorter fake nails, but the really long ones make me cringe!

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it? A super fun vacay with the people I love!

Favorite thing about your house? The carpet actually

Least favorite thing about your house? Only one bathroom and it's upstairs

One thing you are bad at? Going to bed at a decent hour

One thing you’re good at? Talking!! haha! I don't know...making people smile.

If you could change something about your circumstances, what would it be? I don't think I even want to go there.... life has def been kind of crazy lately, but it could always be worse.

Who would you like to meet someday? Jesus Christ

What makes you feel sexy? Having confidence

Who is your real life hero? My grandma, Sibyl Phillips. She was a strong, loving woman. She taught me the importance of family and being Christ like.

When are you most relaxed? When I'm vacationing, having fun with no worries!!

What stresses you out? Worrying!! I worry a lot about the future and Livie's health!

What can you not live without? My little girl, Livie!! She is my rock. My family (including my extended family), I really don't know what I would do or where I would be with out them.

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists? Uhh, haven't really heard anything about that... but I try to keep this blog mostly for Livie and updates on her health.

So, now I get to tag.....I tag....Michele Houghton, Michele Hillman, Rachel Purcell, Mikelle, Laura, and anyone else who wants to do it!!

Another Tag!! (I am doing this one for Alyvia)

3 JOYS:
Livie loves her blankie!! She's had it since she was a little baby and it goes with her everywhere.
Dora!! She watches Dora the Explorer every day
Being with family

3 FEARS:
Being left!!
Losing something down the bathroom drain (even when the drain is shut!)
The wind, she doesn't like it at all

3 GOALS:
To stay tumor free!!
To get stronger lungs
To just be healthy

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS:
Candy corn (or popcorn, as she calls it!)
pre school
Disney movies

3 RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS.......
I was EXTREMELY sick throughout my pregnancy with Livie. The Dr's think that is because of the brain tumor developing while Livie was in the womb.
(Even though Livie was born with a brain tumor, she was still a healthy 7 pounds 7 ounces.)
Livie LOVES to do hair (but not her own!!) She could sit for hours and brush and curl my hair with the curling iron. (Don't worry, we make sure the curling iron is not really plugged in)
Alyvia has quite the arm, I don't know where she gets it from, but I swear she can throw a ball harder than I can!!

Your turn!
I tag EVERYONE who hasn't done this!!!

More!!

2008-09-12T14:59:00.022-06:00

My sisters and I love to camp, so us 4 girls decided to go camping one evening. We had to have a little help putting the tent up....but other than that we are pretty hard core campers!!

Ashley's friend, Kasey, had to help us with the tent!!

Tree huggers!!!! Haha, NOT!!

Livie got to play with Shayla's new pet bunny.

Then the next weekend we went to the....

Eastern Idaho State Fair!!! Woohoo!!
*sisters!*

Yay for the merry-go-round!! (She wanted me to ride it with her, I swear!! haha)

What we've been up to

2008-09-12T14:13:00.022-06:00

Alyvia started preschool, I was a little worried about leaving her, (I know, I know I am super paranoid, especially with her breathing issues)... but Livie LOVES it!! She has done really well.
She is learning new things every day and is at the same level as the other kids. Which is comforting to me to know that her brain is definitely working! (:

Health wise, Livie's lungs are still REALLY weak. She just has really bad lungs and when she catches a cold it always seems to go straight to her lungs. This past week she has been really sick, but thanks to breathing treatments and steroids, she is feeling better. I wonder if the day will ever come when Livie can breathe without wheezing or coughing, but for now we will just be grateful for what we have (:

And....her breathing issues, the ones where she just STOPS breathing, are getting MUCH better!! This is the best its ever been! Yay!

Livie still has her good days and her bad days. The bad days are really hard, but we usually have more good days than bad days. I have to remember this is happening because Livie's brain is still healing.

Overall, Alyvia is doing pretty dang good!! (:

GIRL WEEKEND!!!
We went down to Utah and had a girl weekend with all the girls! We had a good time and it was fun seeing everyone.

My sisters!!

While we were in Utah, we went to the Wood park. It was a big hit with Livie. She had fun playing on everything and cried when it was time to leave. She kept saying, "But Mom, I just want to play!!"
It's rough being 3! haha (;

Alyvia and Granny Goose

Playing with Aunt Shayla

Cabala's!!!
We also went to Cabela's. I have never been there before and I was quite surprised with how much I liked it. It was HUGE and we had a lot of fun walking around looking at everything. I even made a purchase from there, who would've thought!!

Livie wanted to sleep here...in the dog house. Haha

Livie and Aunt Tricia

Pictures!!

2008-08-14T16:15:00.011-06:00

One of my goals this summer was to get Livie's pictures taken. She has changed so much this past year. She is growing up soooo fast!!
My friend, Katy, took these pictures. I think she did a great job, thanks again Katy!!

MRI

2008-07-31T15:33:00.006-06:00

Alyvia had her MRI.....and she did great!! It was done under GA since she has so many breathing problems. With general anesthesia they are able to better control Livie's breathing if something goes wrong (Which has happened in the past....) This time, though, Livie maintained her own breathing the whole time! Which is a first for her, so I was pretty excited about that and I was even more excited that Livie is TUMOR FREE!!! Yay! I can't even tell you how relieved I am (:
It's times like this that help me remember how grateful I really am for my wild, but precious little girl! ;)

Phillips family reunion

2008-07-29T13:59:00.018-06:00

Every year we have a Phillips family reunion, I look forward to it all year long. I come from a BIG family and it's so fun to get together with everyone (There were over 100 of us there!) I am so grateful to come from such a large, wonderful family. We have so much fun together. Even though I miss them, I am so thankful for the legacy my grandparents left behind.

Phillips family Reunion

Swinging!!

Boating with 'The Man'

*Sisters*

Livie and her uncle Caleb

We sang a song accompanied by balloons as our musical instrument for the talent show, Haha!

Playing with cousins

My Dad talking for our Sunday program

Some of the fam

Zoo Trip!!

2008-07-29T13:25:00.016-06:00

We went to Utah with our good friend Rachel. We went shopping, ate out, went swimming...and went to the zoo!! We had a really good time. Livie liked the zoo, she loved the monkeys! (probly because she is a little monkey herself!! haha)

Alyvia and Rachel

Going for a wagon ride

The monkeys!!!

(I think Livie was having a 'moment')

Whitney and Livie

The kids

The other kid!! haha

Swimming!!

Livie and 'her good friends' Whitney and Katie (;

** Thanks for the good time girls!!

2008-07-17T10:44:00.007-06:00

Taggie Waggie

Rules: list 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions, and three random facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end.

3 Joys
-Livie!!
-Finding a good bargain
-Summer time with friends and family (camping, boating, swimming...I love it all!)

3 Fears
-Losing someone I love
-Finding another tumor
-Semi's....

3 Goals
-Being a good example to Alyvia
-Finding happiness within myself
-Having a good attitude even when things don't go as planned

3 Current obsessions
-Hats...love em!!
-Candy, it's my weakness
-Trying to jump the wake wake boarding

3 Random facts about me
-I LOVE dill pickle potato chips
-I almost never use a microwave...I think it makes the food taste funny (I actually don't even own a microwave)
-I still have pieces of glass stuck inside my body from the car accident

**Now I tag.... Michele H, Summer D, Vanae T, Michelle Houghton, Stef & Maggie, Leslie S, and Tiffany & Kacen!!

More summer fun!!

2008-07-13T20:49:00.018-06:00

We got to go to Ross Park with Michele and her neice, Kassidy.

The girls had a lot of fun together!!

Love it!!

BOATING!!!

Livie REALLY wanted to ride on the tube....so we let her

She would only sit by herself, so we went nice slow.

Haha, you can barely see her head!!

She loved it!!

Livie wanted to feed the "fish" she saw in the water...

She kept missing their mouths though! haha

Summer fun!!

2008-07-13T20:07:00.015-06:00

Summer has been keeping us busy and we have been enjoying it!
Livie has been swimming, boating and just plain playing...
Here are some pictures of what we've been doing....

Alyvia and Rachel

Livie loved holding the baby!!

Her new pal!!

Livie loved playing with the kids and swimming!!

The Park:

Livie wouldn't let me push her in the swing....

ONLY Vanae! (apparently I 'didn't do it right') Thanks again Vanae!

Weeeee!

MRI

2008-06-27T14:30:00.015-06:00

Since we stayed with my sister Ashely, we got to use her pool too. Livie loves her aunt Ashley, almost as much as she loved the pool! Haha! (just teasin sis!)

After my last post saying how healthy Livie has been....She got a cold!! Nothing too terrible, but it still left her with a cough and wheezier lungs.

Needless to say Livie was not able to have her MRI. We went down to Utah and stayed with my sister. The next morning we got up really early and went to the hospital. We got all checked in and waited and waited until Livie was finally ready to go see the anesthesiologist....thats when he broke the news and said "That because of Alyvia's medical history, he did not feel comfortable performing the procedure." Since Alyvia was not in her best medical condition the Dr didn't feel good about her having the sedation for the MRI, especially where Livie is not a good candidate at all for any kind of sedation. I had been a little worried about that with her cold, I'd even called Primary's, but they said to still bring her down. So it's kind of a bummer we'll have to do it all over again in a couple weeks, but that's okay, because if the anesthesiologist didn't feel good about it, then I'm going with his opinion. I am glad that they can respect how sick Livie was and know that she likes to keep everyone on their toes with some of the tricks she pulls!

The trip wasn't a complete waste though, we stopped in the PICU and got to see a couple of our favorite nurses!! They all happened to be working that same day. Which made our day! I am so glad that they got to see Livie now, since they'd only seen her at her sickest. (I didn't even think to bring a camera though and get pics, dang it!) We had some of the best nurses EVER and I am still grateful for how incredible they were! We love Primary's PICU nurses!!! They are GREAT!

We had to re-schedule the rest of Livie's appointments she had that day since they all go off what the MRI says....so we'll be going back down in 3 weeks, hopefully then she'll be nice and healthy. (Well, healthy for Livie!)

THEN...
The highlight of our trip...while we were in Utah, I got to finally meet my little HERO, Charlie Cooper!! A lot of you know about him from my blog, for those of you who don't, Charlie and Alyvia have both been through similar brain trauma. It was such a neat experience to finally meet the little boy who has touched my life and my heart so much. Charlie is such a handsome little guy with the most beautiful blue eyes. It was so great to finally meet Charlie and his amazing family. I have to much love and admiration for them.

Livie chatting it up with Rob (She made herself right at home!)
Finally meeting my cute little hero!

Precious

Thanks again for letting us stop by!! You made our day!!

Elder Logan Phillips

2008-06-27T14:18:00.005-06:00

My little, big brother

Livie and her uncle Logie

Some of the fam

I am really proud of my little brother, Logan. He just left for his mission. He will be serving in the Cuernevaca, Mexico mission. He left for the MTC on Wed. Logan had his farewell combined with his cousin's welcome who just returned from serving a mission. It was really great to see everyone there.
I'm not gonna lie....I already miss the little punk!!

Little Miss Sass!!

Update

2008-06-14T13:27:00.017-06:00

I have been a really bad blogger lately....
So here's a little update on Livie.

She really has been doing well. This is the longest time she's gone without being sick --knock on wood!! It just seems like during the winter time she always had some cold or bug!! Yuck!
Her lungs seem like they are doing better, they aren't as wheezy. She still does her breathing treatments and it really helps.

She does, though, still have her good days and her bad days. Some days are really hard because she just cries and cries. She is inconsolable. This is common with brain trauma. It's going to take time, the brain is still healing. When she has a really bad day and I'm really frustrated I just have to remember how sick she was and just how lucky I am that she is still here.

In a few days Alyvia has some appointments at Primary's and an MRI to make sure the tumor isn't growing back. I am a little nervous about the MRI, Livie does not sedate well, so once again it'll be done under GA. Which is better than her stopping breathing in the middle of the MRI, but I still hate that fact that she'll have to be intubated. I know she's going to have to have MRI's for the rest of her life....but I still get so nervous about them.

Other than that, we've just been keeping busy with life and waiting for summer time to finally show up around here!! (;

Livie went fishing for the first time with her dad. She loved it!! She even had her own Dora fishing pole!!

She's got something
She reeled it in...(or maybe she just backed up until the fish was on the grass!!)

Yay! She did it!!

Alyvia got a kitchen set for her birthday!! She loves playing with it. I highly reccomend this for toddlers...it keeps Livie entertained for hours!! (;

Trailing Sheep

2008-05-28T13:05:00.017-06:00

We went with my dad to trail sheep. Alyvia LOVED it! She is turning into a little farm girl. (Those are the best ones, right!! hehe!)
Even though it was raining, we had a fun time. Alyvia got to ride a horse and thought it was the greatest thing ever, she did not want to get off.

Livie and Aunt Shayla

The boys working on the four wheeler

We were laughing pretty hard about something!!

Here come the sheep

Me, my cousin Marisa, and my sister Shayla

Giddy Up!!

Farm chores

2008-05-19T10:15:00.011-06:00

Helping Shayla feed calves (and maybe playing around a little bit too!!)

Livie has finally gotten over this round of C-Diff! (Thanks for all the advice, Livie's been on a couple pro-bacteria's since we've been home from the hospital, but it doesn't seem to be enough at times...)

Sorry for slacking on updating the blog, we've been crazy busy lately.

As you can see from these pics, Livie has been loving helping out with the farm chores!!

Getting the bottles ready for the baby calves
Loading up the pickup

Livie found the baby kitties, she loved them!

If you look closely, you will see that Alyvia is not the only one with a love for rubber rain boots!!

Farming

2008-05-05T11:01:00.005-06:00

Alyvia's been going with her Grandpa Joe do some spring plowing. She loves riding in the tractor and begs to go every day!!

Happy Birthday Alyvia!!

2008-05-05T10:12:00.011-06:00

It's official....my baby is three!!

Where has the time gone!?!

This past year has been quite an unbelievable year, we take the good with the bad, but are glad this past year is behind us. (;

Alyvia's birthday was on May 2. Because she's had C-Diff so bad, we had a low key birthday with family for her, but are planning on going to Utah soon to do some more celebrating down there!!

Love Her!!

Since it was her birthday, we let her ride Pumba at Toys R Us (twice!!)

Opening some presents!!
A new, red Little Tikes CAR from Grandma!!

C-Diff

2008-04-28T12:57:00.017-06:00

Just a little update: Alyvia is still fighting C-Diff, so she's been really fussy, but she hasn't had any more fevers (so hopefully this means no more febrile seizures!!)

Livie has had such a hard time kicking this crappy (haha, no pun intended!) C-Diff. Any advice for fighting it??

She is still getting the steroid through her breathing treatments, it must be working because her lungs and breathing have been a lot better. (:

We're just waiting for it to warm up around here so we can go outside and play!!

Yesterday the sun was finally out!!
Kassidee and Logan (check out Logan's eye, he got into a fight with a cow.)

Learning some trampoline tricks from Shayla

Livie and Grandma

Sorry, I have to vent....

2008-04-23T13:47:00.006-06:00

I ususally try to keep this blog upbeat and positive....however, this post is going to be a bit of a venting session....
It all started yesterday....Livie had a fever all day, I couldn't get it to break. She had really bad stomach cramps and diarrhea, most likely her C-Diff was back. Yuck. She also stopped breathing 3 times already. She just kept crying and crying and her fever kept getting higher and higher. She finally fell asleep for a nap. She was asleep for a little while when I heard these strange noises coming from the bedroom. I went in to check on her.... Her eyes were open, but deviated to the left, her pupils were dialted. She was making weird gurgling noises and could not speak or move.
I kept telling her to look at me, to talk to me. She couldn't. (I am fighting panic at this point.)
I picked her up and held her. She still couldn't talk or move. Her eyes were still stuck and not tracking. I am starting to freak out now.
Thank goodness my phone was close by, I called the pediatrician, they said to get her to an emergency room immediately. Everyone was gone, but I was able to get ahold of my mom (who had just gotten off work.) She rushed over to my house to take us to the nearest hospital: Bingham Memorial hospital. Blackfoot's only hospital. (Definitely not my first choice, but Alyvia is still non responsive, and her coloring is starting to get worse, and I am getting really scared. I can't help but wonder if my little girl just had a stroke.)
Now for those who do not live here, I will tell you, BMH is not a favorite hospital to very many people. In fact, it's the town joke that if you are dying, not to go there because they will kill you off. (Harsh, but pretty true.) I was hesitant taking Livie there, but obviously this was an emergency and she needed help....
We get to the emergency room and Alyvia's eyes or no longer deviated to the left, they are looking straight ahead, but she is still not tracking and she is trying to talk, but the words just are not coming out right.
A man, dressed in regular clothing, takes our info and takes us back to the ER. (I guess he is the nurse) He then tries to weigh Alyvia in a baby scale. I am trying to give him a run down of Livie's medical history since it is quite extensive. Meanwhile, this nurse is having a hard time getting the weight. I tell him that we see the doctor on a regular basis. I know how much Alyvia weighs, does she really have to be weighed right that second? (I am a bit more concerned about whether or not she's had a stroke than how much she weighs.)
Mr. nurse than goes to get a thermometer to check Livie's temp. Oh, and it can only be a rectal temp. They can NOT do it any other way. (Seriously? That is the ONLY way. Does he not understand that she has got explosive C-Diff diarrhea and he should not be wanting to put anything down there!!) I ask him if he has to do it rectally....he HAS to. There is just no other way, and he cannot take my word for it that she's had a fever. He needs to know for himself. (Seriously? Are you kidding me? He can't listen to me, her mother, or feel the poor girl's forehead to see how hot she is?) More importantly, this nurse had not even looked at Livie to assess her. He hasn't tried to talk to her, look at her eyes to see if they're deviated or dilated, checked her breathing....NOTHING!
I am starting to get really concerned at this point, I don't know if Alyvia's had a stroke, if she's okay, and all this nurse wants to do is put a thermometer in her bum.

Whatever, I lay her down so Mr. amazing nurse can get Livie's temp. My mom warns him that Alyvia has a history of stopping breathing, turning blue and passing out. In the past she has needed oxygen to recover. (I am worried because her oxygen is only 80, shouldn't she be getting some oxygen anyways right now?)
Here is the real kicker: The nurse does not get any oxygen for Alyvia, INSTEAD he asked me why we are there.
WHAT!! HELLO! Why do you think I am there?! Then this great nurse proceeds to tell us that if Alyvia stops breathing it will actually be a "good thing." She can "reset her system" and it will actually "help her."
(Apparently he is not understanding all the brain trauma and medical issues Livie has had.)
Well, I picked my jaw up off the ground and told the nurse that I obviously came here to get help for my little girl, and if he could not offer that help, then we could go somewhere else.
And that is exactly what we did.
We left.
My mom is laughing at this absurdness of this whole thing, she could not believe how ridiculous the nurse was. (For a moment she thought we were on "Punk'd" and that Ashton Kutcher would come running out.) It was that messed up!

I am in tears, but at least Alyvia is trying to talk more and tracking with her eyes.
I call Livie's pediatrician and told him what happened. He says that Livie needs to be seen and that he would see her (even though it was after hours.)

Have I mentioned how much we love Alyvia's pediatrician. It's a drive to Pocatello, but it's worth it, he does so well with Alyvia and I trust his opinion.
By the time we got to Pocatello, Alyvia was acting a lot better (finally talking and tracking with her eyes, and sitting up.)
Verdict: Livie did not have a stroke (Phew!) The Pediatrician thinks that Alyvia has the stomach flu, and that because of the high temps she had a seizure while she was sleeping and had a hard time coming out of it. Because her oxygen was doing so well (a record setting 95) she didn't need to be hospitalized. However, if this happens again, Livie will most likely be put in the hospital to be monitored.
I have seen a lot, and as bad as it sounds, I am used to seeing Livie turn blue, stop breathing, even seizing. This episode just really scared me. It brought back all those memories of being in the hospital when Livie was like this and there was nothing we could do.

Because of all the brain trauma, Livie's brain isn't firing exactly right, but I am so thankful it's working as well as it is. I love this little girl more than life itself. (Even when she scares the crap out of me! ;)

I still cannot understand why we got such horrible service from the nurse at BMH. Especially since Alyvia has got such a crazy medical history. It's pretty sad that this nurse would act the way he did.
I do know that I will NEVER be going to BMH again.

I'm back!

2008-04-22T11:52:00.015-06:00

Ashley and me

I'm back!! I went on a week long cruise with my sister. We had a great time, it was so nice to be in WARM weather! It was a really fun (and probably needed ;) vacation. I was really worried about leaving Alyvia (I have never left her and with everything that's happened I was worried how she'd do) She was in good hands, though, and she did great!
Now that I am home though, Livie is sick again! Bleh! She has C-Diff yet again (it is a constant battle with that C-Diff!) And she's had an ongoing fever, hopefully this is just from the C-Diff. So she's not feeling too hot, but her lungs sound great! She isn't wheezing and her oxygen is good.
I decided that I am just going to have to keep Livie indoors until it warms up around here (which could be a while!) She just seems to pick up every germ, I don't think her immune system is quite ready to be out and about yet.

Before I left, we had a nice, sunny day (pretty rare, I know!) So we took advantage of it and Livie played on her trampoline. She absolutely loved it! I couldn't get her to come back in the house, we even had to eat lunch on the tramp. She was a little hesitant at first (she hadn't been on the tramp since before the brain surgery...) but she remembered all her old "tricks" and showed them off for me! It was fun, Alyvia LOVED being outside in the nice weather.

Now if it'll just warm up and be summer already...!

Woah...catching some air!!

Good!!

2008-04-11T08:23:00.027-06:00

Livie is doing a lot better! (: She's finally gotten rid of the fever and runny nose. She is breathing so much better now. (She wheezes just a little bit, but that's pretty good for Alyvia.) The steroid has worked really well, even her cough has gotten much better. Yay!

The Infant Toddler Program and Early Intervention have been working with Livie. (They come into the home and work with her, they provide therapy and preschool if she needs it. They evaluate her monthly to see where she is at mentally and physically.) She just had her last evaluation, she did really well. Especially compared to when we first got home. When we first got home from the hospital, Alyvia was not at all where she needed to be. She couldn't even walk, she couldn't see (her vision was just starting to come back) She didn't talk much, she just cried, a lot. It was really frustrating to finally be home, and realize that Livie didn't really know what home was.

More than anything, though, it was really hard knowing I had a normal, regular child and now I had a child who had suffered so much brain trauma and so many other complications that her brain was not working right, she was so out of it, and completely not herself. Everyonce in awhile I would get a glimpse of my Livie and I knew she was in there. She needed more time. Her brain needed more time to heal.

When we left the hospital, Livie's CT scans showed that Livie had suffered so much brain trauma that she had brain atrophy. It was really hard hearing that my little girl had brain trauma and damage to her brain. No one knew the extent of the damage, or what Livie would or would not be able to overcome.

After a while of being home though, it was like something finally healed in Livie's brain and she "woke up." She was my Livie Bug, she was back! She had the same personality, some things were a little different, but she was back and started making progress in leaps and bounds.

Like I said, Alyvia just had her last evaluation. She is where she needs to be for her age. She did not show signs of delay. It seems Livie's brain is working just fine. The coordinator gave me Livie's very first evaluation results along with this last one so I could compare....
I sat there and cried and cried. Livie has come such a long way. To know that she had sooo much brain truama, to now being a normal little two yr. old. To see where she came from and then to see where she is now.... Alyvia really is our miracle. I do not know what the future holds for us, but I am very thankful Livie is here and doing as well as she is.

Then: In the PICU when Alyvia was so sick. (She was still only 17 lbs, but she was SO swollen with crepitus - air in her tissues)

>Now: I think the picture speaks for itself

Since it's been so cold out lately, we've been trying to keep ourselves busy in the house....I got some paints out and Livie really loved it! (She even painted the table and chairs -good thing for washable paint!!)

Livie and Rachel (her second mom)

Livie loves Pat!

Update

2008-04-08T09:55:00.005-06:00

I think I spoke too soon....Alyvia was doing alright, but then yesterday she got really sick and had a fever all day. She was having a really hard time breathing (I was so worried she was getting pneumonia.) We had to take her back to the pediatrician last night. He was worried about her lungs, so Livie had some chest X-rays to see what her lungs looked like.....
They looked good!! PHEW! I was SO relieved. She doesn't have any fluid in her lungs and the atalectisis (portion of lungs that has closed off) has even gotten better.
Because she is having such a hard time breathing though, she is starting a steroid, the albuterol treatments just weren't cutting it. I am not crazy about a steroid, but it's a low dose and if it helps her breathe than it's worth it.

The pediatrician thinks the most likely cause of the new fever is a viral infection on top of what she already has (RSV.) The doctor doesn't want Livie on antibiotics because of her long history with C-Diff.
Right now our biggest concern is Alyvia's lungs and making sure she is getting enough oxygen. As long as her lungs can hold up she'll be okay, and right now they are. (They just better keep holding up!! ;)

Feeling a little better

2008-04-06T21:07:00.012-06:00

Alyvia is doing a little better. She hasn't had a fever and she is no longer gasping for air or panting really hard to breathe, she is still really wheezy and has a cough, but as long as she isn't fighting so hard to breathe, we're okay. (And she doesn't have blue lips, they are nice and pink now!)
We're going to take it easy until Livie feels better. We're also waiting for it to warm up around here, which could be a while considering it SNOWED today!! (Not a lot of snow, but still!)

As you can see in this picture, Alyvia is still sportin' the rain boots. (Yeah, I know Easter is over, but Livie really likes her Easter basket, it has become her new favorite toy!)

Once again it was nap time and Livie HAD to sleep with her boots on, I snuck in later and took them off. (Hopefully this doesn't become a daily ritual.)
SiLLY GiRl and her RaiN bOOts!!

Our friend Carson returned home to his Heavenly Father

2008-04-04T14:28:00.009-06:00

Anchorage resident Carson Wallace Henrie, 2, died March 30, 2008, at his home surrounded by family
At 16 months, Carson was diagnosed with a brain tumor and flown to Primary Children's Medical Center. As he fought through the treatments, he touched the lives of all who knew him. Carson displayed amazing courage and had an enormous will to live.His family writes: "Carson taught us what is truly important in life and to appreciate the little things. By example, he taught us about patience, endurance, faith and love. He taught us to smile when life is hard and to fight back even harder. He taught us to have hope, don't give up and to continue believing in miracles. We've learned the preciousness of every second we have with our children. Though we will miss Carson terribly, we will be forever grateful we had the chance to know and love him. Carson has changed our lives and will remain in out hearts forever.

This little boy, like Alyvia, had a brain tumor. Carson's tumor was cancerous and he fought a long, courageous battle.
I will never forget Carson, my heart goes out to his family.

Reality Check

2008-04-02T16:47:00.005-06:00

Livie saw the pediatrician today. He said it is very likely she has RSV, her lungs are just so damaged they're having a really hard time working against this virus. Her SAT's were borderline low (87-92) they should be a little higher. Her heart rate was pretty high. (Probably from working so hard to get oxygen to her body.) I am keeping a close eye on her. If her SAT's get any lower or she spikes another fever, than I have to take her back to the doctor. We really want to keep her out of the hospital. Our pediatrician has been so great with Livie and won't hospitalize her unless he has to.

It was just unexpected because Alyvia looks so good and she's done so well since we've been home. She has made soooo much progress, but I had a reality check today,
Livie's lungs are still damaged and weak.

I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed and praying that she'll beat this little set back like she has the others. (:

Girl Time

2008-04-01T19:20:00.015-06:00

Some of us girls went to Utah this last weekend. We went to Park city and we went shopping. It was a big day, but we had fun and I found lots of cute stuff for Livie. She does not fit into ANY of her old clothes....she's doubled her size in the last few months! ;)
This is the first time Livie's been to Utah and not gone to Primary's for appointments. It was quite nice driving right on past the hospital's exit!

Livie and her "Granny Goose"

I wanted to buy some rubber boots for Alyvia to wear around on the farm. We found these and Livie LOVED them! She had the wear them the rest of day.....and night! When it was time for bed she wanted to wear the boots, she cried and cried. Doing what any other sleep deprived mom would do....I let her, she wore them to bed.

She has been wearing them ever since. (Seriously, she has them on right now)
(Yeah, they are on the wrong feet :)

Lungs

2008-04-01T15:42:00.006-06:00

Alyvia is sick, she just got a cold, but it has gone to her lungs. She is having a really hard time breathing and catching her breath. She's doing breathing treatments and we have an appt with her pediatrician to make sure her lungs don't have fluid in them.
I am just really paranoid about her getting ARDS (lung disease) again. It happened SO fast. One minute she was recovering from brain surgery, the next she was in the PICU on life support because her lungs were completely full of fluid.

So I am keeping a close eye on her and we'll be laying low for awhile.

Easter Sunday

2008-03-26T09:18:00.031-06:00

(Yes, that is a Dora tattoo on her arm, she wanted to put it on her cheek!)

Alyvia woke up Easter morning and found her Easter basket. Then she got to find some eggs. She was running around the house giggling, she was so excited. It was so fun to watch (especially since Christmas hadn't been very fun, she was still struggling with the brain trauma....and wasn't herself at all.)

The Easter bunny got Livie an Easter dress....and she finally got to go to church!! (Well, sacrament meeting.) She hasn't been to church in a loooong time (over 6 months! Pretty sure she is on the inactive list! ;) So it was really good to finally take her out and bring her to church.(She still can't go to nursery....too many germs. We'll just take it one step at a time.)

We had a good Easter, and are really happy Livie was here to celebrate it with us.

Mom and Livie

The Easter bunny found our house (:

Some of the girls

div> Showing off their matching Dora tatts!

She loves her Uncle Caleb...I love how they have the same expression!

Checking out the new puppies

Finding Easter eggs

She needed a little help

Easter egg hunt

2008-03-24T09:42:00.009-06:00

Getting ready to go find Easter eggs with Griffin!

Alyvia went to the Primary's Easter egg hunt. It was pretty cold (when isn't it cold here?! haha) but she loved finding the eggs. It was the first time she's really been outside. She was lovin it! (I was a little hesitant since it was cold, but Livie was dressed warm and she had so much fun!)

Gotta find more eggs!

Together forever

2008-03-24T09:07:00.016-06:00

I am so happy for the Dance family. They were able to go to the temple and be sealed together as a family. I had never been to a sealing before, it was really neat. I am so glad I could be there to witness such a special occasion.

Yay Dance family! I love you guys!
Griffin and Lexi

5 Things about Alyvia

2008-03-18T09:07:00.012-06:00

Alyvia's been tagged!

1) Alyvia only calls her Dad by his first name, Hutch. She doesn't call him "Dad." Hutch was her very first word and it stuck! She knows that Hutch is her dad, she just likes to call him Hutch or Hutchie!

2) Her favorite color is pink!

3) Alyvia's middle name is Jo. She is named after her Grandpa, Joe.

4) Livie is a typical girl....she LOVES purses! She never leaves home without hers. (She won't even go get the mail without her purse in hand!)

5) When she was born she weighed in at 7 lbs & 7 oz. (People always ask me how much she weighed when they find out her medical history.) Livie was a healthy baby until she turned a year old, then she started throwing up and getting sick. This was all related to the tumor growing and putting pressure on her brain.

This sounds cheesy, but Alyvia really is the light of my life. I never realized you could love something so, so much....until I became a mother.

She was saying "Cheeeeese!"

Somebody got into the chocolate!!

Now we tag: Ashlee Cook, Lexi and Griffin Dance, Corgin Simonson, Julia Joy Soderquist, Naomi Hansen, Bentley Stevens, Kinsey Rees and Noelle's Emrie....pretty much anyone who wants to do it!

Mission call

2008-03-12T08:54:00.037-06:00

My little bro got his mission call.....

Logan is going to Cuernavaca, Mexico.

We are all really excited for him. We went out to dinner to celebrate and it was one of the few times Livie's been out. She loved it!! She had a great time running around like a wild girl which was really nice to see.

We had a really fun time with the fam.

Sisters <3 href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_GsjsJ3Hsopc/R9f_2QOQHdI/AAAAAAAAAcM/SR94Mlqw1Bs/s1600-h/Logan%27s+mission+call+034.JPG">Livie BugThe Phillips family
Alyvia and PapaLogan and Caleb

This is how Caleb eats his jello!!

ABC tag

2008-03-09T21:07:00.014-06:00

Tagged by Jenny

A - Attached or single? Attached...to quite a few people actually! (;

B - Best friends? Rachel, Michele, Summer, my sisters, and Kami.

C - Cake or pie? Pie

D - Day of choice? I like Fridays

E - Essential Items? Chapstick and my cell phone

F- Favorite clothing item? Whatever's comfy

G - Greatest ambition in life? To be a good person, to have a healthy family (Alyvia) and to be happy.

H- Habits? Going to bed late

I - Indulgence? Sleeping in or reading a good book

J - Jan. or July? I love summer, so July all the way

K - Kids? Livie Jo, she is 2 1/2

L - Life isn't complete without? People who love you and treat you well.

M - Movie? I love the Bourne series, Without a Paddle.

N - Number of bros and sis? 3 bros and 2 sisters

O - Oranges or apples? Both, I like fruit

P - Phobia or fear? Finding another tumor, loosing my child or someone I love

Q - Quote? "If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything" -Mark Twain
I have learned that honesty is actually pretty rare.

R - Reason to smile? Alyvia!! She is our little miracle.

S- Season of choice? SUMMER!!! I love camping and boating!

T - TV shows? I missed a lot of them I used to watch from being at the hospital so long, but I just started watching "Keeping up with the Kardashians," I don't know why, but I love it!

U - Unknown fact about me? My hair is naturally really curly and I broke 7 bones (in 15 different places all in one very bad accident)

V - Vegetable? Actually I really like all vegetables.

W - Worst habit? I tend to always be late

X - ray or ultrasound? Whichever

Y - Your favorite food? Everything!! Seriously, there's not too much I don't eat. I like meat...steak and burgers. I also like Italian.

Z - Zodiac sign? Libra!!

Now I tag Rhetts mom, Pam, Mikelle, Vanae, Tiffany, Jen King and Teresa and Misty.

Feeling better, but more seizures

2008-03-05T09:03:00.019-07:00

Livie hadn't seen her Gramma for awhile so she was excited to finally see her

We are finally feeling better, yay! Livie still has a cough, but it never got really bad, however she did stop breathing once in the middle of the night because she got so congested she just had a hard time breathing. (Good thing Alyvia still has a pulse ox and I am a light sleeper.)

Livie's lungs have been really wheezy and crackly (from this flu/cold I'm sure) so she's had to do more breathing treatments, but she is definitely feeling better because she's been running around like a crazy girl! I have to make her take a break sometimes because she gets so wheezy I'm afraid she'll stop breathing.

Alyvia was doing really well and hadn't had any seizures for a while (the doctor still thinks it's seizures that trigger Livie to shake and then stop breathing and then to pass out) then yesterday it happened 3 times! Sometimes during the seizures she barely shakes and then sometimes they are so bad that I have to lay her on the bed because I am afraid she is going to hurt herself she is convulsing so bad. Yesterday they were really bad one's, she had a hard time coming to and she had a hard time walking afterwards. Since we've upped her seizure medication when Livie passes out she usually comes right to. It usually only lasts 30 seconds instead of minutes. So that's better, but I wish we could just get the seizures under control. We tried giving her iron supplements to see if that would help....but that didn't go over so well. We are supposed to be talking to Livie's neurologist to see what he wants to do....

Other than that, Livie is still doing well. She is a busy little thing, and I can't wait for the wheather to warm up so I can take her outside!!

We were playing hide-and-seek and Alyvia was hiding....hmmm where could she be
There she is!!

In honor of Ian

2008-03-02T16:20:00.008-07:00

Ian's family is making and gathering different projects to donate to Primary's Children's Medical Center and to the Ronald McDonald house in honor of Ian. I think it is a wonderful idea. While we were at Primary's I was amazed at how much the hospital caters to the children. They were always giving stuffed animals, toys, blankets, books and more to the children there. It was nice that Livie was able to get fun things while being in the hospital.

We also stayed many times at the Ronald McDonald house. Especially when Livie was in the PICU, the hospital only has a few sleep rooms for the parents and they filled up fast. It was really nice for us to be able to stay at the Ronald McDonald house. The RMH is possible because of donations; food, toys, money, everything is donated.

We too, are so thankful to all of the kind people that donated or gave to help us out and other families going through difficult situations.
If anyone would like to join or help in any way here is some more info: http://emilyandian.blogspot.com/

SICK

2008-02-26T17:25:00.013-07:00

We are all sick! Yuck! We caught that nasty bug that's been going around. (Well, Hutch caught it and gave it to us...dang it.) Livie has had a fever for the past 2 days. Today, though, it hasn't gotten above 99. Livie's pediatrician said that where this flu bug is a virus, it can't really be treated with antibiotics, we just need to let it run it's course. We are just hoping that this virus doesn't affect Livie's lungs too much, or that could be a bad thing.
So for now we are laying low and getting lots of rest. (And it's an excuse to stay in our jammies all day long! ;)
Oh, and Livie has already had influenza once, and yes, she did have her flu shot. Apparently this year's flu shot hasn't been that proactive.

I felt bad Livie's been so sick, so I gave her a "fun dip" (you know the lic-a-stix candy, I didn't even know they still existed.) She loved it.

Tag

2008-02-24T17:37:00.019-07:00

I was tagged again...

10 years ago:
I believe I was just starting my freshman year of high school baby! I was loving it, loving the boys ;) and cheering was my life. And I also might have given my dad a few grays hairs....just a few.

5 places I've lived:
Logan UT, Blackfoot ID, Rexburg ID, Boise ID, and SLC UT

5 jobs I've had:
1.FEEDING CALVES every day(the job I had the from the time I was 12 until I went to college.) 2.Receptionist. 3.Waitress (okay, so I worked at Sonic, and yes I had to wear the roller skates...and I do NOT skate well!) 4. BMH admissions
5. My current job, the hardest and best at the same time...being a MOMMY! I love it.

10 years from now: I want to be truly happy. I have met some of the most extraordinary people who do not have a lot, but they are truly happy. And because they are truly happy, they have it all.
I want Alyvia to be healthy and well. For my future children to have good health. Good health is one of the best blessings we can have.

Our Week

2008-02-24T17:37:00.018-07:00

We have had quite a busy week. Alyvia is officially potty trained!! Wa-hoo! She's actually been wearing panties for the past couple of weeks, but we've had a really busy past week and she didn't have any accidents, not even when we were traveling in the car--knock on wood!)

Livie also had a play date. We went to Katy and Madie's house and Alyvia loved it. Madeline is close to Livie's age, and they played great together. Alyvia did really well, (she did get a little tired, probably from running around so much) but she is already asking when she can play with Madie again! (:
Livie hasn't been around kids her own age in a long time, so I was a little worried how she'd interact, but she did just fine. In fact, Livie gets to start a play group (Early Intervention) pretty soon so she can have some child interaction. I think it'll be great for her. Especailly since she is an only child.

Hutch has been REALLY sick (along with everyone else it seems) so we are trying super hard to keep Livie healthy. Hopefully she does not catch this nasty bug thats going around...bleh!

And lastly, my child has reached that point in age which I've heard others refer to as "the terrible two's!" ;) Livie is very independant now. She gets to decide what she wants to wear, eat, ect. Our day today was something like this: Alyvia gets up and decides she just doesn't like any of the clothes she owns and tells me she just wants to be naked. I of course say No, then Livie proceeds to take all her clothes off anyway. All of them. I finally convince her to at least wear her panties. I then fix her favorite bowl of cereal, and Livie says, "No, I don't like that mom." She ate it yesterday, and the day before that, but whatever. So I make her something else. (she didn't like it either.) Then it's potty time. I take her to her choice of potty (she has 2) and of course she doesn't like either one of them. She likes my bathroom with the big toliet. So I let her use it, and she fell in! It didn't even phase her, she did her duty and was off playing with her toys. Naked.
I've heard this is normal behavior for a 2 1/2 year old. So I think we're doing alright.
Alyvia has this new found independance and is loving it, maybe a little too much, haha. She makes me laugh everyday with the things she says and does. She has got so much personality! As stressfull as it can sometimes be, I really do love being a mom.

WARNING: This is just a warning to anyone who might stop by our house, there is a very good chance my child will be running around buck naked. (;

Alyvia's "big girl Dora panties!"
What a cute bum!! Cheese!

Valentines

2008-02-18T16:58:00.012-07:00

Alyvia got some ballons for Valentines Day and she was loving them, she packed them all over the house!

She was trying not to drop her teddy bear and hold onto the balloons at the same time

It's hard to believe that 2 months ago Livie couldn't walk. She is running all over the place now!

We've been tagged

2008-02-12T21:17:00.030-07:00

We've been tagged. You are suppposed to list 7 facts about yourself...and since this blog is mostly about Alyvia I am going to list 7 things about her too.
Here we go....

Megan
1. I absolutely love summer, I LOVE camping and boating. I also like fishing and just being outdoors. I love when it's warm enough to jump on the trampoline and sleep overnight on it.

2. I love fashion. For as long as I can remember I have loved clothes and jewelry, and just shopping in general. I like purses and shoes, I like getting dressed up. It's just who I am. However, I am quite the bargain shopper, I very rarely pay full price for something. (Really, I think Rachel and I are the thriftiest shoppers around!)

3. Biggest misconception about me: Because I like fashion and shopping, people assume I am prissy...NOT true. I grew up on a farm. I had to feed calves every single day and work on the farm. My dad made sure I knew what hard work was, manure was a part of my every day life. In fact, some of my fondest memories growing up are rounding up cows with my dad and checking the cows during calving season (I still go check cows with him.) I guess I really am a country farm girl at heart.

4. I have a lot of SCARS!! I was in a really bad car accident 1 1/2 years ago. In addition to breaking 7 bones the glass did quite a number to my arm and back. The glass also cut my face/eye up pretty bad. I had to have 2 reconstructive surgeries to repair the damage done to my face/eye. My scars used to really bother me, but not anymore. They are just a part of me.

5. I love hot baths! I rarely shower, bathing is my thing.

6. I also like to READ! I seriously read everything. I read books from the Twilight series, to Ann Rule, to National Geographic, to People magazine.

7. I have the greatest family ever. I have been blessed to be a part of such a large, loving extended family. Cousins, aunts, Grandma's....I love em' all.

Livie bug
1. Alyvia loves Dora the Explorer, I mean LOVES Dora.

2. Livie also really loves ranch. She would dip her cereal in it if she could.

3. She has got the smallest feet! She is finally in a toddler size 5 now. She just has little feet.

4. Alyvia is a night owl. She always has been. She never goes to bed before 10:30 PM, but she does sleep in, which is nice since Mom is not a morning person.

5. Livie also has quite a few scars from everything that she went through in the hospital. Someone once told me that Livie's scars were "scars of strength." I agree.

6. Along with the usual nursery rhymes she sings... Alyvia loves the Avril Lavigne song, "I don't like your girlfriend." She blares it at the top of her lungs. I am not sure where she picked this up, it's not the typical toddler song, but she loves it!

7. Alyvia's got a lot of spunk! She loves pink and princesses, but she also loves snakes and motorcycles. She makes me smile every single day, and has got quite the personality. I sure am lucky I get to be her
mom.
Now I tag....Summer, Jenny, Mikelle, Stef, and Shelley, I want to know 7 things about you guys!

Just a little update

2008-02-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

I found her like this...

Alyvia had a flare up of C-Diff this past week....Yuck! I hate C-Diff, and I am pretty sure Livie hates it too! C-Diff is so hard to get rid of!! Luckily, we got it under control again. Antibiotics don't seem to help at all, but we found an awesome pro-bacteria that works really well.
We also got the lab work results back from when Livie was at Primary's and her iron is pretty low. (Which could be from a couple things: being so sick, C-Diff, having so many blood transfusions...)So we are starting Livie on an iron supplement. Alyvia's breathing episodes have gotten better, but she still passes out a few times a week, the doctor thinks this is happening because Livie's iron is so low....I guess we'll find out.
Overall, Livie is still doing great! She was quite cranky when she had that C-Diff flare up, not that I can blame her, but she is finally starting to sleep better at night, and her "seizures" are under control. She is also walking just about like normal and her "roid swelling" is finally going down...although she still has a double chin!! (:

Livie and her Occupational Therapist

More OT

What can I say, she's my little Thug!