We're Home!

Lex and I are now back home in Iowa and were thrown right into the first winter storm of the year. It was a complete shock from the mild Texas weather, to Below zero temps and 3 feet of snow!! I do like to be back home, but I very much miss the Texas weather and all the fun I had there with my family!! I also know Lex is glad to be back home with her best friend, Maddy and her very missed crib. The first day we were back Lex was dying for me to put her in her crib and when I did, she was as happy as a clam for almost an hour! (she had been sleeping in a pack and play, which isnt so comfy). Anyway, we're glad to be home and I'm sure Pat is also glad we're home!

Alexa is getting bigger all the time! Even since my mom came to Iowa in October to help me out when I was sick, she said she's seen a difference in Lexi's face, which now seems more "grown up" and not so baby like. Lex also likes to talk ALL DAY long! And I mean all day....unfortunately she's not speaking the same language as Pat and I so most of the time it is very hard to understand what she is saying. She tries very hard though and I will give her a ton of credit for that! She likes to tell stories that are long drawn out sentences where she points to things, has influctions, and will look you square in the eye, and you'd totally think she was telling you a story but it's just incomprehensible. I finally caught a little bit of her story telling on video..this was actually the third time she told this story.The first time she told the whole story, then I grabbed my camera, I asked her to tell me the story again, and she did the exact same thing as before, but unfortunately my memory card wasnt in my camera, so the THIRD time I finally caught it on tape! It's so cute...I just wish I could understand her!! (sorry it's sideways)

Thanksgiving, Christmas and My Birthday!!!

So Thanksgiving this year was also combined with Christmas since all my siblings were here in Texas together, which hasn't happened in many years. We started with a WONDERFUL feast then opened Christmas presents and then ate many, many desserts!! :oD THEN....Friday, my whole family went on a boat ride where we had my birthday party. It was a TON of fun! Having a birthday in December usually means cold and snow, but not this year! I absolutely LOVED it!! We opened presents and ate yummy cupcakes! So between 2 days, we celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas AND my birthday- so needless to say they were days filled with parties, yummy food and warm fuzzies! ;o)
<-- Lex opened Christmas presents
<-- "Spot Loves His Daddy" book
Christmas!!!
<--Boat ride
<--My Birthday Party :o)

Texas

It's been 6 weeks since I first started feeling sick, and I am glad to say that I am feeling better, but also still recovering. I am now in Texas with my parents and am loving the nice November weather! I really think the sun is helping me feel better and being with people during the day. I very much appreciate the help I am getting with Alexa as she is a wild child! ;o) Pat was also able to come for a surprise visit this past weekend and he actually kept it a secret!!! (He is notorious for ruining surprises) I had a lot of fun while he was here but he had to go home today to Iowa because of work :o( but I will see him again in a couple weeks for Thanksgiving. Anyway, here are a few pictures of our visit thus far...

<--my cute little brother, Chris wishing me well

<--When Pat surprised me in Texas

<-- When Daddy showed up!

<-- Little Lex LOVING the pool (yes it was very cold but she didnt care)

<--Lex chowing on some "Muddy Buddies"Aunt Andrea made

<--Lex before her First hair cut

<-- Making "the cut"

<-- YAY!! ALL DONE!

Blessings

It's due time for me to make a happier post...so I thought I'd list the blessings I've received from this illness I've had for almost an entire month-

-Homemade dinners brought to us for 5 days
-Pat and Home Teacher gave me a Preisthood blessing
-My mom was able to come out from Houston for a week to take care of Alexa (and Pat and I)
-My mom making a nice dinner every night she was here
-Over $50 worth of groceries were delivered to our house almost immediately after making a list of grocery items and wondering how we were going to pay for them
-Young Women's President came over to do my dishes
-Another lady from my ward came over to help with Alexa so I could get some rest
-Mother-in-law came the day after my mom left to help with Alexa and other things
-Medicine to help alleviate my aches and pains
-Doctors who have taken their time to fully analyze my situation and not brush me aside as a number
-Hospitals that are close by
-Prayers offered in my behalf by those who barely know me
-My name will be on the Temple Prayer Roll in 3 Temples
-Alexa- she keeps my spirits high
-Pat- who makes me feel better by just holding me
-My Heavenly Father who gives me comfort
-Warm baths- which is the only thing that really makes my muscle aches go away

Hospital Visits 2 and 3

Kind of another depressing post, but I thought I'd try to keep people updated on my situation... Again I'll try to make this as short as possible-
Sunday I was feeling pretty good and thought I was getting better from my diagnosis of Scarlet Fever, but late Sunday night (like 2am) I started to feel extremely cramping AGAIN and I also had extremely painful numbness and tingling throughout my entire body...So Pat drove me back to the hospital again to get checked out as I was in incredible pain once again. They checked me out and dismissed me with a shot of medicine to dull the pain I was having but weren't quit sure why I was in pain, and a bottle of magnesium citrate (plus 3 other medicines I was already on) and said I should be fine. Then less than 12 hours later, I was in much pain again with the numbness and tingling and also very weak, so Pat first took me to the Urgent Care place since it was now around 1pm and during regular office hours, but when we got there, they told us it was an hour and a half wait!! I was losing all hope of getting better and thought I would literally die from all the pain I was in before the hour and a half wait was up, so Pat rushed me to the hospital once again to be treated. We were there for a good 4-5 hours this time to make sure I was getting better and not just rushing me out the door like they had done the night before, which obviously didnt help. Anyway, that's a VERY brief version of what happened. My mom flew out from Houston on Tuesday to help out, since Pat had already missed so much work and sleep from all my late night visits and was also emotionally drained, so we decided we needed a family member here to help with both Alexa and I. I now seem to be doing better, just very tired and weak. I hope I dont have anymore relapses and I only get better from here!
I will try to write another post a little later today that's much happier, but right now I just need a nap! ;o)

Scarlet Fever

My last post was 2 weeks ago talking about my sudden and extreme sickness with a possiblity of the swine flu...however things haven't gotten much better. I'll try to make this as short as possible, but if you want more detail just email me or whatever, I'll be glad to share the whole story with you!
Last Tuesday (Oct 6) I wasnt feeling good at all...extremely lightheaded, very tired, nauseous and exceptionally crampy, oh and I had a rash all over my body. By that evening I couldnt take the pain anymore, as the pain meds I kept taking werent working at all. I HAD to see a doctor for this and the only thing open at 10pm was the hospital. I cannot explain to you how bad I felt. The pain was unreal...nothing like the pain of childbirth, but still probably 8 or 9 on a scale of 10. Anyway, we go into the E.R. and they have me checked out, giving me an IV of saline solution, pain and nausea medication. They ran some tests and came to the conclusion I had Scarlet Fever and the cramping was more or less from the inflamed lymph nodes lining my spinal cord from my previous illness. They sent me home drugged up so I could get some rest and a perscription of penicillin. I was glad they could tell me what I had, but I was thinking "Scarlet Fever... who gets that nowadays?!" It reminds me of the game Oregon Trail... "You get ill with Scarlet Fever, lose 3 days..." I dont know anything about this illness and how the heck did I get it?! Anyway, I slept solid from Tuesday night after the hospital visit until Thursday evening around 5pm. I was pretty much in hibernation for 2 days, it was crazy!! Now it's Sunday night and I still dont feel 100% better. I still am a little achy, and get lightheaded if I do too much at a time. I hope I get better soon as I have a 15 month old daughter who is NON-STOP!! Anyway, your prayers would be appreciated!! I have to check up with a doctor this week to see how things are going, and hopefully it will all be good news!!


OH...and I almost forgot, I was actually looking forward to Oct. 7th but it was kind of looked over with my illness...anyways, the significance?....... It was Pat and my 2 1/2 year anniversary!! I cant believe its been that long already! crazy!

H1N1??

I haven't posted in a month, and I think it's time!! Well I've been sick since last Thursday and this is by far, the worse sickness that I've had since I can remember! It started out with aches and fatgiue, but after I had gone to bed Thursday night I woke up a few hours later with a temperature of 102.5F and yet I had the worst chills ever! I couldn't believe how high my temp. was! I was definitely feeling the pain though. Luckily, Pat was able to take Alexa to our friends house to play the next morning because I couldn't even get myself out of bed let alone watch Alexa all day. Oh and the second night I still had a terrible fever, but like usual, my skin felt cold, so I bundled up in sweatpants, a super fluffy robe, and 2 comforters... inevitably I woke up with a pretty bad heat rash :o(! My temperature has gone up and down the past few days but Im still pretty worn out. Nurse Kathi said I might have gotten the H1N1 virus, but I never had a sore throat, but who knows?! This illness knocked me out! Anyway, I'm feeling better, I only have a headache and super swollen lymph nodes...which is a plus for me! Pat had something similar the week before, but he took it like a champ! I'm pretty much a whimp when it comes to pain! :o( Oh and another lucky thing for us is that Alexa seems to be doing just fine... I REALLy didnt want Alexa getting this bug and so far, so good!!

Well here are some recent pictures of Alexa to those of you who dont see her very often...she is a GROWING girl!!!

This is Lex when she was supposed to be napping!

Video of what Lex was doing instead of napping...

Lex almost 15 months old-I thought she was super cute today so I had to take a picture (She is looking older and older! I even compared her with her one year birthday pics, and she has changed a lot even since then!)


Alexa is CRAZY for Mac and Cheese... this is what she does when she gets really excited!! Oh man, we laughed so hard!

Nauvoo Temple trip :o)

So today Pat and I went to the Nauvoo Temple for the first time. It was sooo exciting for the both of us! :o) Neither of us has ever been to an LDS historic site before, (besides the Salt Lake temple square, which doesnt really count ;o) Oh, and it was Amazing! I could definitely feel the spirit there! We didnt have a lot of time to tour around, so we will definitely have to come back, but we were able to take a few pictures of the temple and a statue of Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum Smith. It took us a little over 2 hours to get there but it was definitely worth it! We also passed the Mississippi River, which was pretty cool to see, and we also passed this mansion of a house. Not sure who it belongs to, but oh man...it was HUGE! The picture does NOT do it justice. But it was ridiculously big! We hope to return SOON as a family to tour the sites! Where was Alexa during this 7 hour trip, you ask??? We left her with our friends the Zmoos' and I hear Lex and Maddy had a day FULL of fun! First of all, this was the longest time I have been away from Alexa, I think, ever... sad but true, and she didnt even cry when we left! She obviously felt right at home, which made me a lot more comfortable leaving her for that long! :o) Anyway, I hear Maddy and Lex picked flowers and went on a bike ride, and played by the pond and saw a whole bunch of geese, and had a day filled with toys and a best friend...what could be better?? :o)
<-Extremely large house/mansion on Mississippi River<- Kind of a lame picture, but I wanted to get a pic of the Mississippi River since I've never seen it before

<- Historic Nauvoo sign

<- First view of the Nauvoo Temple

<-- Pretty picture

<- Patty Cakes and the Nauvoo temple...my two favorite things ;o)

<- Beautiful temple, on a beautiful day with my beautiful husband...couldnt ask for more

<- Statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith called "The Prophets Last Ride" (this place was the hill they stopped at right before they continued on to Carthage where they were martyred in 1844)

<- Lame tourist picture of the NAUVOO sign

<- What can I say... A picture is worth a thousand words

New Pictures

I haven't been very good lately about posting pics of Alexa, as she is now 13, almost 14 months old. But here are some of our most recent pictures that I thought everyone might enjoy!

*These pics are from the package Cousin Amberly, Aunt Karena, and Uncle Jason gave to Alexa for her birthday

THANK YOU COUSIN AMBY!! (And aunt Karena, and uncle Jason too :o)

*These next pictures were from just this past Wednesday (Aug. 12th). We went to this splash park called Guthridge Park, in Hiawatha, IA (about a 10-15 minute drive from our apartment). We met some friends from church there, and had tons ons of fun splashing in the water! :o)

*This picture was taken just yesterday... I was feeding her some oatmeal cereal and she likes to touch and feel her food before eating it, and sometimes spits it out to feel it, then puts it back in her mouth, but I decided to just let her play in her oatmeal since she needed a bath anyway. Well as you can see, she had a LOT of fun with that!!! The first pic is just her playing in her food, the second pic is after I told her that we were going to take a bath (i guess an exfoliating oatmeal bath a that!)...which btw she LOVES baths!! I also included a video, which is pretty cute!

("Wanna take a bath Lex?!")

First time in big girl Potty :o)

This post will be short, but I just wanted to tell everyone about Alexa's first big girl potty experience. On Wednesday I was giving Lex a bath and I saw her straining a little and since the week before she pooed in the bath TWICE, I thought I'd snatch her out of the tub before that happened again. I pulled her out and plopped her on the toilet and sure enough, Alexa did her business. I was so happy that it wasnt in the tub again and not only that, she used the big girl potty for the first time... well kinda?? :o)

Paranoia

So I'm totally getting paranoid about my blog being public and that anyone can see what I post...the reason, I read this article today on aol.com about this little boy who was found on criagslist "up for adoption" and blahdy blah, until the mom saw it and Freaked! It also said the picture that was with this "sad" adoption story was taken from this families blog... there are creepy people everywhere, probably not out to get me necessarily, but hey I'd rather be safe than sorry. My conclusion... I'm making my blog private, so if you want keep reading my blog, please leave me your email and I will invite you to it. Thanks for being understanding!! :o)

(I'll leave it open until Aug. 12th so email me before then!)

Happy Fourth of July 2009

Alexa's First Birthday Party!!

Alexa had her first birthday party on Saturday June 27th and it was a blast!! I'm posting a slideshow with all the pics from her party as well as a description of the party so I don't have to write it twice. Happy Birthday to ALEXA!! We love you!!!!!

(sorry I'm computer illiterate and dont know how to put the slideshow on my profile, but here is the link...)


http://picasaweb.google.com/r.carney0702/AlexaSFirstBirthdayParty#slideshow/5352595840227435842

A Walkin Girl

Alexa started took her first steps just last week! She prefers crawling to get around, but she definitely loves to try and walk. She can take about 5-7 steps at a time then loses her balance, but thats okay, thats what practice is for! :o) I will hopefully put a video up soon so you can all see how cute she is when she "toddles". I just cant believe my baby girl is walking already AND her FIRST birthday is coming up next week! CRAZY!


I finally got a little snippet of Alexa walking...(please excuse the mess, this was taken shortly after the party and our house is a total mess!!) and Sorry it's sideways, I can't seem to flip it upright :o(

I love Summer!

I love the summer-time! It's getting very warm, (and humid) outside which makes me want to be outside all day! Our friends bought their daughter a baby pool, which Alexa LOVES!! It can have plastic balls inside, or it can be filled with water outside, and they have invited us over a few times to play in it. Lexa loves water, whether its in the bath, or in a pool, or even in the toilet :o/ she loves to splash in water! Today Alexa and I went to a little splash park with our friends Liz, and Maddy. The water was very COLD, but that didnt seem to stop Lex from enjoying herself. Here are a few pics of little miss Lex fully enjoying her time at the splash park as well as some pics from the little baby pool at Maddy's house...

<--"I love the splash park!"

<--"All this playing makes me thirsty!"

<---Lex lovin the water table

Maddy and Lex-->

Memorial Day 09

For Memorial Day, we all went to our ward BBQ first thing in the morning. I had an outfit for Alexa that was all patriotic and super cute, but I wasnt exactly sure she would in it fit bc it's 12 months. However, as I was putting it on her, I noticed it was a little more snug than other outfits but it seemed to be doable, and as I was about the snap the bottom buttons, I saw that there was NO WAY that I could get those buttons to snap around Lexa's cubby thighs...I had to laugh! It was pretty funny! So we just put on another cute outfit. I would have gotten a picture, but Lexa decided to have a blow out so her first outfit didnt last very long. We actually had to borrow an outfit from Maddy, TWICE!

So after the BBQ we went to the Zmoos' house and just hung out and relaxed. Another couple and their 19 month old daughter also came, the Donaldsons. We watched TV, played Rock Band, ate pizza, the guys played Halo, and had a really good time having a day off.

At the end of the day, it was bathy time for Maddy. But, Alexa decided she wanted to take a bath too so she crawled in the bathroom and started playing in the water, so I just ended up putting her in the tub w/ Maddy :o)

Life Update

We have finally moved into our new apartment in Iowa. We like it so far, and our neighbor next to us is really nice too. She's a younger mom with a 4 year old girl. Now I have someone else I can make bows and stuff for thats not only Alexa, bc Lex has a TON of bows already!! It's so nice to have our own place again. Especially with Lexa wanting to get into everything, and I mean EVERYTHING!! I can now better regulate what she gets into. But like I said, she gets into everything so when I'm trying to organize something, she is dumping out something else... ugh it's kind of frustrating at times, but eh, I'm a mommy, stuff happens. But in time, our unpacking will happen.

Pat, so far, is liking his job, and is hopefully going to place his first person soon, which means he will make a pretty good commission off of it.

And as for me, I like being a stay at home mom, but it's definitely NOT a walk in the park! I made my first sell on the bows that I make, which made me pretty happy! :o) If youre wondering about where to find these magnificant bows, you can look at my "bowtique" blog (rahellesbabybowtique.blogspot.com).

Alexa keeps on growing and it wearing 18 month clothes already, and weighs about 23.5 lbs! She likes to pull herself up to standing from almost anything sturdy or not, so we have to watch her constantly! She is getting more and more of a personality... stubborn (just like mommy and daddy both), usually very sweet, but can also have a temper too! And I can't believe that Alexa's one year birthday is just around the corner...crazy!!

Good bye ol' Rexy

Yay- we are finally moved out of Rexburg... though it's kinda sad that we wont see our friends there, most likely ever again :o( but i guess thats life. But we can try to keep in touch through the wonderful world of facebook and blogging...but it's not the same. And I am definitely going to miss the "mormon bubble"! Iowa has a very small population of LDS members and on top of all that the nearest temple is a little over 2 hours away! I'm used to looking out my bedroom window and seeing the beautiful Rexburg Temple, but at least I'll get the chance to go to the Nauvoo Temple, which is pretty cool too. Hopefully Lex and I can make some new friends in our new ward or in our apartment complex...well I guess and Pat too ;o) A new chapter is unfolding in our lives and I hope it all turns out well...and I've decided that my new found phrase in life is "cest la vie"!

Easter!

So yesterday Alexa went to the mall and saw the Easter Bunny for the first time! She wasn't quite sure what to think, but I thought she did pretty well! She let us take a few pictures before she got too anxious to go back to mommy and daddy.

As far as today, the Easter Bunny came to Lexa and gave her some pretty cool gifts! Some things included, Elmo's color book, Big Birds Alphabet book, banana puffs, and a cute little stuffed bunny rabbit. Alexa seemed to have a blast checking out the things in her Easter basket.

Then, as church time approached, Lexa got all dressed up in her pretty Easter dress. What a cutie, huh!!?