...And it left just as fast as it came!

While we slept on Friday night, we got about 4 inches on snow. I started to see it really coming down around 4am on Saturday morning when I was up with Baylee. Then at 7:30, it looked so beautiful that WE woke up the kids! This was our first snow since that freak snow storm in late Oct. We were so excited!

We got to enjoy the snow all day Saturday, Sunday & Monday morning. Then, we got some strange warm current & with that came warm rain... And by Monday afternoon just about ALL the snow had washed away! But, it was nice because on Tuesday, we had a high of 56 - it was gorgeous & we enjoyed all the fresh air outside & sunshine! :) What a week... teens/20's to high 50's!  :)

From out the window...

 Getting snow-geared up...

 Garrick explaining to me that this snow is just too powdery to build a snowman.

 My two main-men... :)

 Doing some x-games type stunts at the playground...

 Snow angels!!!

 Garrick taking the kids on a wild ride!

Sunny Sunday morning...

Last day of snow play Monday morning...

 Aubree is gearing up for a snowball fight!!



So great news...
It's been brought to my attention that it's totally OK that our home is a disaster.... Because, guess what??

I live with Artists!

I don't know why I never thought of that before...

Today I was informed by my 4-year old that they aren't messy kids... They're just artists!

I didn't realize I was living with ARTISTS!! But now that I look around, yeah... I can see it; classic pieces of art hanging on every door, some on the walls & hey! even drawn right ON the walls...

(hahaha... It made me laugh, so I started taking pictures of it all)
So, now with this new enlightenment, I guess it's ok that the kids are messy... because they're just artists! :)

I'll need to remember this in the future!

 And then, like every day... the kids play in our closets:

 And... On our bed:

 I can't believe what a HUGE girl Baylee has become!! Geez... 15 1/2 pounds now!

 Baylee & Aubree looking in the mirror...

These kids keep me entertained all week... Nothing eventful, just Preston being a goofball, Baylee being sweet & Aubree busy (because she was absent from these pictures)...

 So, this week was my sister, Natalie's Birthday (31!) CRAZY!!! I can't believe how old we're all getting! Anyway, our new "thing" in 2012 is going to be personalized Birthday greetings.... Get ready people!

Hopefully we can keep up with this & all our family will get one of these puppies this year (lots of hard work involved with this one!), Garrick says "what's up with Baylee being lazy?", Well... By the end of this year, I'll guarantee that she'll be carrying her own weight in the sign-holding department! ;)

I think these pictures are sooooo funny... all the kids look so goofy in them! :)

Sorry Nat, we do love you & wish you a very...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

 I thought this was a cute collage... I've been making my Granny some Birthday gifts (her birthday IS Preston's birthday... how cool is that??), anyway, I made this of her Great Grandkids... I think it's so cool that these kids are my parents & Garrick's parents grandkids... they all look so much alike! :)

Double cousins...

I haven't been posting much... well, because we haven't done much! ;) Over New Years Eve weekend Garrick caught some bug (cold) that got him real sick. So, I was expecting we'd all be sick that first week of Jan., but no one got sick until the following weekend when only Aubree caught it, so I thought "whew! we're almost in the clear!". But then the next week Preston caught it. Well, needless to say, I finally caught it this weekend & now Baylee's starting to show signs... :( So, we're all sick, except for Garrick & now Aubree's coughing is finally letting up a bit. I think I'm at the worst stage of it right now, but I'm hoping for a quick recovery!! :)

So, we took Baylee to her Radiology/Urologist appointment today. I've been waiting for today to finally get my concrete answers! But, after more tests - they show no improvement to the kidney (still swollen/backing up) & no real obstruction in her ureter that alarmed the Doctor. So, now what?? The Doctor says that we should stop giving her the antibiotics that she's had since the first day of her life in this world - the antibiotics that's been protecting her from any Urinary Tract Infections (UTI's) & now we wait... We wait to see if she develops any sort of infection. So, tonight was the first night in almost 4 months that she didn't have her little pink medication - I felt sad NOT giving it to her, but it's funny because 4 months ago I was sad to be giving it to her. So, now I'm a little nervous. I hope it's obvious to me if she develops a UTI & I'm also sad at the thought of her being in pain from one, but we need to try to figure out if this is something that's going to cause any issues. Who knows... maybe she'll just be fine! If no infections develop, in three months we go back for an ultrasound to check on the progress of things. If infections do start, we go back sooner and... that's about all I know. Yesterday I lost my voice, so I couldn't really ask any questions today... Hahaha!!! Not the best day for that to happen. Oh well, I think I got the basics.

Baylee has been all smiles lately, so I've been getting some pictures of her. I'll add a few! :) So, next week  Preston turns TWO!! We're soooo excited to be celebrating his little life! Except for Aubree who is really jealous that it's Preston's birthday & not hers. Oh boy!! Four year olds...

Baylee is now a big, 15-pounder! She's getting so big & so long... most 3 month outfits don't fit her in length (& in her big bulging belly area - she likes to eat!!).

She's a great baby & we all just can't get enough of her! She feels like such a special little person to me. She's really tough & I know it sounds funny to say, but I can tell she's very smart & aware of her surroundings.

She can now self-soothe and she can fall asleep on her own with me putting her in her crib fully awake. The longest time span she has slept was on New Years Eve night, she slept 8 hours straight. That would have been awesome... If it weren't for me staying up until 1am! But, typically she goes to bed at 8/8:30pm & will sleep to about 2/2:30am. She nurses & then sleeps until usually around 5/5:30am.... Then the room starts to lighten gradually & she starts getting restless & I don't really know... It's always a gamble as to what happens thereafter. Sometimes she'll sleep until 7:30/8, sometimes she wants to wake up at 6:30 & play... or she'll just lay with me, or hang out in her crib. Overall, she's pretty pleasant & happy though.

Her favorite place in the house is laying on our bed and having all of us look at her & smile at her - she loves smiling back and talking to us. Or being bounced around or walked around. Lately she's been taking a few mini-naps in her new Giraffe swing, or in her crib... but, mostly in my arms.

We take her back to her Radiologist & Urologist (it's a combo appointment) on January 17th. Hopefully we do the tests & that we get our answer on the same day! I'm really curious to know what exactly is going on & if she'll need surgery... Or whatnot. So far she has been great though! The daily antibiotics have kept off any urinary tract infections & she's gaining weight, having lot's of wet diapers and seems to be a normal, happy & relatively healthy 3 1/2 month old!

She enjoys tummy time & also a few tummy naps with me near by.

Of course (as always) I had Preston hovering over me while I took these pictures & had to try to try to keep him to the side.... lately it's tough for me to get any solo pictures of Baylee

These are just a few of the many faces of sweet little Baylee...

(she reminds me SO much of Garrick... their noses are so similar!)