Why oh Why Tucker?

I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a fashion victim but I feel like I know the basic do's and dont's. So WHY does this little man absolutely insist on wearing his jeans like this? Everyday.

Where ever he goes. No matter what.

Tatum's 6th Birthday

This was the first year ever Tatum got a birthday party. More on that to come. Her actual Birthday is today, October 26th and I'm sad to say she is SO sick! Her fever yesterday hovered at 102.5 and was a couple times as high as 103.2. She didn't get to go to school and hasn't played with any of her birthday presents. Poor thing. She could either be sick on the couch watching TV or she could be sick in the movie theater watching a good movie and she chose the movies. We saw Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and she loved it. I felt really bad she couldn't enjoy her birthday, thankfully her teacher said she could bring her treats to class another day. We had to cancel her family party of cake and ice cream this evening and instead our little family sang to her. We love this girly and are SO grateful she's in our family!

Now the fun part of her birthday...

Seriously, could she be any cuter? Nope! The theme she chose was: Angels. Not surprising. So angel she got. She's dressed, halo on, wings on, her hair is fancy, and she's ready for her guests.

Nonnie and Auntie Nina came for back up. I would have pulled my hair out without them!

A quick family photo shoot.

The angel and I.

She requested that Nonnie come early to do her hair fancy. Nonnie does the best french braids and did not disappoint! Tater LOVED her hair do!

Tucker was in charge of helping with the balloons. After he did his balloons, Chris did the moving of tables, and a few family shots the boys were kicked out for the duration of the fiesta. GIRLS ONLY!

The cake. I stressed about what to do for weeks and stayed up way to late the night before working on it but if I do say so myself it turned out pretty cute. She liked it, I liked that she liked it!

This poster was for the game, Pin the Halo on the Angel.

We thought these were pretty funny!

All the little angels making angel dust, alo vera gel and glitter mixed. ALL angels twinkle!

Not pictured is the game, Musical Clouds which was fun but the girls didn't quite get it. They wouldn't move unless they had a cloud to land on which made for a large angel jam. There were 21 little angels in attendance; I've learned that for the next party 21 is too big a number. Ten sounds more like it! She had a fabulous time and was full of smiles. She enjoyed herself and all her cute little friends.

October Break Overview

We didn't do anything exciting or go anywhere fabulous but we did have a lot of fun over October break, all two and a half weeks of it.

For a day or two the weather actually cooled down engough to sell lemonade. They drank most of it and the only customers were us parents. They loved it which is what matters!

Ice cream at our favorite spot, Yogurt Jungle, with some cute friends.

Tatum got a pedicure with Miss Hansen, her Kindersteps teacher whom she still loves and adores. She LOVES getting her toes done but even more than that she LOVED seeing Miss Hansen!

We went to the Scottsdale Train Park with several friends. The kids loved the train, merry go round, playing at the park and in the dirt, and spending time with friends.

We went to a cabin conference weekend. The weather was chilly and the kids ran wild outside. It was nice and relaxing. A cabin + conference = messy hair...for Tatum that is.

We went on our ward campout. It was a quick 15 hour get away, tonz of work and freezing temperatures!

We had a sleep over with little peanut, Leah, their cousin. Tatum was such a helper, a great big sister. Neither would leave her side. They both sat for quite a while just watching her in the swing. It tugged at my heart.

We spent a day at the Children's Museum, one of our favorite places, thanks Molly!! They never tire of all the fun things this place has to offer!












Nonnie and Pops took them to see Where the Wild Things Are and then finished with lunch at McDonald's, a favorite of theirs. It was a fun date, they didn't want me to go to the movies but were okay with me meeting them for lunch. Nice.

They got to spend an entire day with Nonnie. She took them to the park for a picnic and of course, they had a marvelous time with her!

Student of the Week

Tatum was student of the week and that meant fun! She was given this poster to color and fill out so her class mates could learn more about her. She was SO excited!

This is Freedom Bear. She got her for the week and was thrilled. She is a very coveted bear and who ever has her is queen or king. She went every where with Tatum including a spend the night at Nonnie's house.

At the end of the week Tatum brought in her poster and shared it with her class. She also brought Freedom Bear back and shared what they did all week.

She even brought in Gisele, her turtle. Gisele was a hit and Tatum loved bringing her!

To finish her week we all ate lunch with her in the cafeteria. She wanted pizza and soda so that's what she got. It was fun watching her feel important and special because Heaven knows she certainly is!

Shop Chic Boutique!

My friends put on this darling boutique twice a year. I always end up spending more than I'm allowed and I'm excited to once again get introuble! It's this Saturday, October 24th from 8-3. Check the map for directions. See you there!!

Ward Campout

The blondies LOVE to camp so we braved the ward campout. It was a fun and freezing 13 hours. We got there just in time to set up our tent in the pitch black and warm up the stew.

We sat around the camp fire and chatted among friends.

This is how the blondies, with their friends Tyler and Luke, spent the morning. Except for the few minutes Tucker and Luke were on the side of the 65 mph highway playing in the street and throwing cars into on coming traffic. We were packing up camp and assumed they were playing in the dirt but NO! they were playing in the STREET! Chris got screamed at by some driver who pulled over and Tucker got well, let's just say he better NEVER pull that again!

They were filthy, stinky, and tired! Tuck showing his dirty hands and face. On our way home we decided to go for a quick hike with 5 other families. It got cut short because sweet Tucker had a melt down. It was fun but way to much work for 13 hours!

Jersey's Beads of Courage

These are Jersey's beads of courage. Each bead represents something done to her or that she experienced. If my house was burning down and I could save one thing, other than my blondies, it would be this box. A dear friend made this for us; we already knew Jersey endured much but it was quite different seeing it. Her strand of beads is over 6 feet long, I hate how long it is!

Her beads begin after her silver name and pink beads.

Black: IV Pokes- 33

Orange: Central/PICC Lines- 6

Purple: Infusions (medications)- 13

Aqua: Tubes (NG, Chest Tubes, Foley and PD Catheter)- 8

Red: Blood Transfusions- 72

Green: Procedures- 77

* Chest X-Ray- 51

* Ultrasounds- 13

* Echos- 12

* CT Scans- 1

Sun/Moons: Days/Nights in Hospital- 41

Multicolored: Days on TPN- 41

Silver: Dressing Changes- 22

Dark Green: Days on PD (dialysis)- 27

Double Figure Eight: Days on ECMO-6

Purple: Surgeries- 5

Pink Butterfly: Her release, her new, perfect beginning!

That's a lot for a little princess to undergo, especially in the 41 days she lived! It's also sad that there are other children who have experienced worse. But for me, for my princess, it's more than enough. I'm grateful she'll never be asked to experience ANYTHING like that again. I'm grateful I know where she is. And I'm MOST grateful she's all mine and some day, there will be a glorious reunion and she'll NEVER be taken again.