St. George Trip Day 1 (Thurs)

Early Thursday morning we (meaning my parents, Chantel, Tyson and our little family) started our venture down to St. George. Thankfully the boys were being good sports about being woken up at 6 in the morning. Ryker was all excited and ready to go...

 ...Cyrus was just quiet and had this look on his face like 'Why am I up this early?'

 On the way down we stopped in Springville for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. YUM.

The rest of the drive down we were praying and crossing our fingers that we would have good weather in St. George. The weather forecast was saying rain for the whole weekend. It wasn't looking very promising as we drove through rain and snow. It was starting to make me feel grumpy. Whenever you imagine St. George you think warm weather and lots of sun. So the crappy weather on the way down made fact that I had to pack pants and sweatshirts more aggravating.  

 But low and behold and we started to come down out of Ceder City and we watched the temperature start to go up. So when we pulled into St. George the sunshine and blue skies was a very welcoming feeling. It was about 65 degrees. AWE!!!

We stopped at the bike store to pick up a couple of tire tubes and then headed to the base of Snow Canyon. We spent a little time getting the bikes all prepped and ready to go while...

 ...Ryker kept Cy entertained for us.

 We also had a little lunch.

 His booster seat came in handy at this point. He was so busy crawling around exploring that he wouldn't eat anything. But once we put him in his seat he did great.

 I was seriously so excited to get my bike out on a ride longer than just around the block in our neighborhood. Also to get a better feel for my new clip less bike shoes (I have to admit that I only fell over once and it was in the parking lot haha). After that it was smooth sailing. It felt so good to get out and ride. The boys weren't as hard to pull as I thought they would be. Definitely more of a challenge going up the hills.

It turned out that the first half way all up hill. 6 MILES UPHILL (and I pulled the boys the whole way)!





 Riding through the Canyon was just beautiful.

 Taking a break as we wait for the rest of the crew to come up the hill.

 The boys slept the whole way up. Which was much needed. Ryker didn't sleep in the car on the drive down and Cy only slept about 30 minutes. So they got about an hour nap in the bike trailer. So Cute!

 On our way back down we stopped at the Sand Dunes.

 This was probably the highlight of the boy's day.

 But what boy wouldn't like to play in a big pile of sand? 

 Jesse and Tyson were having a contest on who could jump the highest and farthest down the sand hill.

 I wanted a turn to try.... haha lets just say this white girl can't jump.

We spent about an hour soakin' up the sun and enjoying the beautiful day that we so luckily were given.

Our ride back down the canyon went by so fast. It's amazing how much faster a downhill mile is versus an uphill mile (pulling two boys might I add). When we reached the car we had mad a round trip of 12 miles. Not too shabby?

When we made it back to the parking lot Jesse and I decided to ride our bikes to the condo while everyone else drove the cars there. The condo was 5 miles from the parking lot, so we put in a 17 mile bike ride. It was AWESOME! I have found a new love for biking. It was a perfect way to start out our trip.

Manda and Jon's plan was to drive to St. George from Eugen, OR after Manda got out of school Thursday night at 9pm. They were planning on bringing their two dogs and little bird. When my dad booked the Condo he saw on the website the it was pet friendly. Well when we got to the condo and my mom was reading through the pamphlet it said NO PETS ALLOWED! So we all started to worry. My Dad called the front desk and they said the pets were only allowed in the houses not the condos.

So at the last minute Jon and Manda had to try and find a place to kennel their dogs. Long story short, their newer dog didn't have his shots so they couldn't kennel him, and they had a later start to drive down than planned, and lack of sleep, they decided it would best to stay home  :( Us and them were all really bummed, but it turns out that it'll be for the best.

Our originally plan for this trip was to have the entire family here, but Craig had finals for school and Lex had work so they weren't able to make it. Then Manda and Jon weren't able to make it. So we are missing the rest of our family.

It's super AWESOME to get away and spend time with my family and have nothing to worry about. We are all enjoying each other and being big goofs.



Cutest Boys You'll Ever See

About 2 weeks ago I took the boys up to the Ogden Union Pacific Station to have their pictures taken with my friend Courtney. They turned out just DARLING! There were SOOOO many good ones. If I put them all on here they'd fill up the entire page. So I picked my top ten.  So ENJOY these cuties!

Continuation on the Kitchen

I wonder how many more Kitchen updates I will post before things are actually completed? haha Lets not think about that. Think in the now for now.

First off... we bought a TABLE... Yeah!!! It was time for the card table to go.

Before...

 After...

I'm beyond thrilled. Such a great find (thanks to online shopping). It gives the dining room a bigger feel now. The table seats 6 comfortably, where the card table we all felt crammed around it if we had 6 people. And I also purchased a small fold up plastic picnic table that the kids can sit at when we have people over. So it's perfect. Best part about it is the seats lift up and there is a place to store stuff. Bonus! That freed up some drawer space. All around I'm very pleased with our new purchased table.

So now if you look closer, the second new items are...  BLINDS. Thought it was time to bring some color into the kitchen. Everything is tan, brown, beige, yellow, lighter brown...etc etc etc. So having the red has changed the look and feel of the kitchen. 

 They are cordless, so all you have to do is push them up or down and they will stay where ever they are put. Pretty nifty huh?

Making progress with one little step at a time.

Easter Time

After work yesterday we gathered around and dyed Easter Eggs together. Cy was super tired so he napped while we worked on the eggs. He's still too little to enjoy this, but next year he'll love it.

 Ryker certainly had a good time. By the end though his hands looked like the Wicked witch of the West.

 Taking a snap shot while we wait for the eggs to color.

 Our finished products...

 EASTER MORNING... the boys woke up to these... New shirt and tie, a movie, bubbles, goldfish crackers, and an egg with a surprise dollar inside.

 After church we hung out in the yard for awhile to take some pictures. The boys were tired so it wasn't very successful, but we did get a few. It's just a BEAUTIFUL day it was just nice to be outside.

It took putting Cy up in the tree to get a smile out of him.

 Ryker always has his camera ready smile.

 Don't they look so Handsome in their Easter shirts?

 It was fun this year that we were able to do an egg hunt in our back yard. Ryker found all the eggs... while Cy just crawled around not interested. Like I said earlier... Next year the 2 of them will enjoy it together.

 Proud of his findings.

I'm grateful for the chance to reflect on our Savior's Sacrifice and Resurrection for all of us. I'm also grateful that because of HIM that I get to be with my family FOREVER.
 Happy Easter!

(Side note: Cy and Ryker are on the uphill slope to becoming all the way healthy. They both have lingering coughs. Cy's croup got better after taking the steroids and both the boys had goop in their eyes. Ryker's only lasted a day, where Cy's lasted a couple. I don't know for sure if it was pink eye or allergies? Because their eyes never really got pink. So I don't know. All I care about now is they are doing better. Hopefully they are done getting sick. They have had their fair share.)

The past two weeks

Just to give you a little update about Cy. About two or three days after he had been diagnosed with Fifth Disease the rash cleared up and Cy started to act more like himself. For about a week he was acting happy. As a matter of fact Jesse and I commented on Sunday that we were happy that Cy was all better. Well we spoke to soon. Monday morning he woke up with the yucky cough. Jesse and I were both thinking "Where on earth did that come from?" Well as the morning progressed on I noticed that Cy was very unhappy and his breathing was Weezy. I called the pediatrician and made an appointment for him to check on Cy.

Lets pause there for a minute. I wanted to show that Ryker and Cy both have upgraded carseats. This really shouldn't be a big deal, but I'm just totally shocked that Ryker can be in a booster seat now. He totally loves it! When I bought it he was SOOO excited. He kept telling me 'Mom, Thanks so much for buying this for me."

 Now since Ryker no longer is in the forward facing carseat, Cy then got to move into it. I was so grateful that Ryker was big enough to be in a booster because then I didn't have to have two forward facing carseats. And a booster seat is MUCH cheaper. So It's a WIN-WIN in my book. It's cute to see Cy get all excited as we start to drive down the street. I think he's happy that he gets to look at out window instead of the back of the car.

 I thought this was cute. They seriously love each other. These two are going to be inseparable as they grow up.

 Ok, going back to Cy. So yesterday Jesse got done with work early. So he was able to take Cyrus to his doctor's appointment while Ryker and I went to Hogle Zoo with my friend Harmoni and her son Parker. (Parker has helped with the boys a few times, so Ryker and him are good buds).

The day was sunny and bright, but a bit chilly. It's been so strangely warm for this time of year, so I haven't liked when it drops to normal temperatures for April.

 I have a picture of Ryker and I on these Tigers when he is not even a year old yet. I'll have to do a comparison one of these days. But we are sitting in the exact position. I hadn't thought of that when we were taking the picture.

Ryker has got the cheesiest grin. It cracks me up. He sees that camera and slaps on that smile without even thinking.

 Parker and Ryker were two peas in a pod that day. Ryker thoroughly enjoyed having Parker around and Parker was so accommodating to Ryker's busy attitude.

 Meet Eli the Chimp. He would go from window to window with his folded arms propped up on the seal and just stare.

 After we saw all the animals we bought tickets to go on the "EXCITING"  train ride (sarcasm added). Ryker enjoys it so much I just can't say no. It's like a 2 minute ride...if that. But it's not about us adults, it's about the kids. So my $3 was happily enjoyed by ryker.

Ok funny story. After the train ride we went over to the DiscoveryLand (aka... The Park). Parker and Ryker were playing on the slide while Harmoni and I are sitting talking on the bench. Next thing I know Harmoni starts laughing and says that Ryker was PEEING!!! Yup! PEEING... On the playground. Pants all the way down. Not ashamed one bit! I notice the children and adults around him start backing away and looking around, probably thinking 'Where is this kid's mother?'

So I wait a little while (feeling a little embarrassed) until he pulls his pants back up and starts playing again. I then go over to and tell him it's time to go and that he must pee in the toilet. As we are leaving I can feel every adult staring at us. I guess telling him it was OK to pee in our backyard back fired.

As we were leaving I get a phone call from Jesse. He tells me that Cy has been diagnosed with  Croup! Good Grief! What else is this kid going to get? The poor thing isn't starting his second year of life out very well. I can only hope and pray that this will be the last of it. But it may not be!

Reason I say that is because I noticed today that Ryker's eyes were goopy and kinda red. Well by tonight they didn't look much better. Progressively worse. So I'm thinking he's got Pink Eye! He said to me "My eyes are Spricy. I can't close them all day." Hearing that made me want to laugh cuz it's such a cute way to describe how he's feeling, but sad at the same time. "Spricy" is his word for spicy. So if that's the case hopefully Cy won't get that as well.

So I'll probably be taking him to the doctor tomorrow. My boys are making me single handedly pay for Dr Reese's home.

I pray that the next post won't be about ANY sickness!

Oh as another side note...Jesse finished Fire Academy tonight! YEAH!!! He also made the internship for the next class going through. So that will be good on his resume as he starts to apply for Fire Departments.

South Jordon is having their first hiring test on April 9 (this coming Monday), so fingers crossed that he will do well. And also Salt Lake City is having theirs sometime in May. So two good possibilities for future jobs.

What's Next?

OK... So where to start? The past week Cy has been acting and feeling better after figuring out he had an ear infection. And as that was ending Jesse and I started to get the cold symptoms. So by yesterday Jesse and I weren't feeling all that great. So we stayed home from church to try and kick our colds.

After Cy woke up from his afternoon nap, I noticed a little rash on his tummy and on his face while I was changing his diaper. I wasn't really sure what to think about it. Neither did Jesse.

We then went to The Smith's and while we were there Heidi asked me if Cy had a rash. Then she started to wonder if he was having an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin. I guess her two youngest boys are and they broke out in a rash when they were younger. So I decided to see what the morning brought.

Well the rash blossomed over night. It's on his cheeks...

 Neck and Back....

 Here's a better shot of his face.

 His tummy...

So I called the doctor right away. The soonest they could see us was 3:10pm. So I had to wonder all day... Was this an allergic reaction to the amoxicillion? Or the rash symptom to the MMR shot he had 13 days ago?

This is Cy waiting for the doctor to come see him...Obviously he isn't bothered by the rash all over his body. He's happy as can be. I'm sure if he knew what he looked like he'd be bothered. I sure as heck would be.

 I thought I'd take this time to get a good shot of his back while he wasn't dressed and sitting still. Crazy huh?

 Dr Reese comes in and right off the bat he tells me that he doesn't think that it's an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin because the rash would be on the palms of his hands and on the bottom of his feet. Second he says that it doesn't look like the MMR rash. So the diagnosis is.... FIFTH DISEASE! I pulled some info from kidshealth.org to explain it better than I could.

Fifth disease, which is especially common in kids between the ages of 5 and 15, usually produces a distinctive red rash on the face that makes a child appear to have a "slapped cheek." The rash then spreads to the trunk, arms, and legs.

About Fifth Disease

Fifth disease is actually just a viral illness that most kids recover from quickly and without complications.
Fifth disease (also called erythema infectiosum) is caused by parvovirus B19. A human virus, parvovirus B19 is not the same parvovirus that veterinarians may be concerned about in pets, especially dogs, and it cannot be passed from humans to animals or vice versa.
Studies show that although 40% to 60% of adults worldwide have laboratory evidence of a past parvovirus B19 infection, most can't remember having had symptoms of fifth disease. This leads medical experts to believe that most people with a B19 infection have either very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.
Fifth disease occurs everywhere in the world. Outbreaks tend to happen in the late winter and early spring, but there can be sporadic cases of the disease throughout the year.

Signs and Symptoms

Fifth disease begins with a low-grade fever, headache, and mild cold-like symptoms (a stuffy or runny nose). These symptoms pass, and the illness seems to be gone until a rash appears a few days later.
The bright red rash usually begins on the face. Several days later, the rash spreads and red blotches (usually lighter in color) extend down to the trunk, arms, and legs. The rash usually spares the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. As the centers of the blotches begin to clear, the rash takes on a lacy net-like appearance. Kids younger than 10 years old are most likely to get the rash.

Older kids and adults sometimes complain that the rash itches, but most kids with a rash do not look sick and no longer have fever. Certain stimuli (including sunlight, heat, exercise, and stress) may reactivate the rash until it completely fades. It may take 1 to 3 weeks for the rash to completely clear, and during that time it may seem to worsen until it finally fades away entirely.

So this explains what has been going on with little Cy. The poor little guy. He's been through alot.

Apparently the Disease is contagious. So Ryker, Jesse, Me and everyone that we have been around COULD be affected. Dr. Reese told me when adults get it they don't get the rash. Just the aches, runny nose and a headache. Pretty much like any other cold. So makes me wonder if that's what Jesse and I had yesterday and still today.

So until next time. Hopefully this will be the last sickness post. But I shall keep things updated.

THE BIG ONE!!!

1:00 am on the morning of March 3, 2011 my water broke and about 6 1/2 hours later Cyrus Robert Smith came into our world. A year later I am having a hard time imagining what our lives would be like with out him. We love this little man. He's so sweet, loving and tolerant (of his big brother unintentionally picking on him).

The Sunday after his birthday (March 4), mine and Jesse's family gathered together at the Smith Home to watch Cy with the traditional hoo-ha. It's something you can't miss.

While unwrapping presents the bows were a favorite of his.

 He did very well unwrapping as well (with the assistance of his daddy).

 Playing with his new toys.

Check out the cake that I made. A client of mine gave me the idea and the directions. It was really fun to make. I made the Carrot cake and the cream cheese frosting. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but it was super yummy.

 Oh he wanted to dig into it so bad.

 I thought a cupcake size would be better portion size for him. At first he didn't really dig into it like we all thought that he would.  It wasn't until Jesse took a glob of frosting and smeared it on Cy's tongue that he started to chow down the cake.

 He wasn't really all that messy of an eater.

By the time he finished his cake, Jesse had Cy's tricycle put together. (It's a bit big for him, but he'll grow into it). He liked the ride though. Just can't peddle quiet yet, let alone reach them. But look at that face...

It was wonderful to have all our family together to support us and our little guy on his big day (even though he had no clue). I don't know what it is about seeing a one year old open presents and eat cake for the first time...but it's so enjoyable.

Happy First Birthday Cyrus! We all love and adore you so much!

________________________________________________

Tuesday (Mar 6) was his Dr. checkup.

Here are his stats...

Weight: 21lbs - 23%

Height: 30 1/4 - 66%

Head Circum: 47.5cm - 81%

According to the doctor everything looks great on the little man. We now get to switch him from formula to cow's milk (my wallet is singing praises). I guess since he's sort of a light weight he will be just fine with WHOLE milk over 1% or 2% milk.

The bummer part of this appointment was that the little man had to get FOUR shots. UGH! It breaks my heart every time they have to poke him. With each poke his cry becomes more and more sad. OH! It's terrible. Thankfully he calmed down by the time we got to the car. But the whole way out he let me know he wasn't happy about what just happened to him. He was very happy to get home and take a long nap.

Last week both Cy and Ryker had had a cold. The coughing, runny nose with a slight fever. So by the time of Cy's birthday he had just gotten over that. So I'm thinking that would hopefully be the last illness they got before spring would come. (BTW this time of year is just so yucky. I very much dislike that everyone I'm surrounded by is sick which makes my children sick, which gets other children sick. It's a terrible chain reaction). So... I THOUGHT I was done with all that.

Around 2 in the morning on Thursday I woke up to Cy moaning in his crib. Not crying or fussing, just moaning like he was miserable. I go in and check on him to see what the matter was. When I touched his head I was totally shocked by how warm he was. So I take his temperature... 101. Immediately I get the infant Tylenol and he went back to sleep.

Throughout that day he was probably awake for 5 hours of the day. Just sleepy and running a fever. Heidi was at our house taking care of the boys, so it was comforting to know that the boys were in good hands. We were feeling concerned that his fever wasn't going down. At the lowest it was 100.

That night I put him to bed by 7pm. Bedtime is regularly 8pm, but there was no way he would make it till then.  

As Friday morning came around I decided to call the pediatrician. I try really hard not to be a over paranoid mother. But I was starting to feel concerned that his fever was going on for 2 days now. I know when they get shots that that can and will cause a fever, but not for this long.

So after talking to the nurse, she told me that it sounded like something viral and to continue giving him Tylenol/Motrin to bring his fever down. By this time is was 8:45am and Cy was still sleeping. I decided call my Mom and ask her if she would be willing to come to my house until Cy woke up. She willing did, and I left for work at 9:15am.

Around 11 I called my mom to check in on Cy. She informed me that he was sleeping. Gosh. Sleepy guy!

At noon I then text her.... Is he awake? She replied...No. Then my next terrible thought...Is he alive? Thankfully she replied...yes.

Finally at ONE Cy woke up. He slept from 7pm Thursday night till 1:00pm Friday afternoon. UNBELIEVABLE! That's 18 hours. 

By Saturday, Cy's fever reached 104 degrees. I was worried that he was going on three days with such a high fever. When I woke up that morning at 7 I gave him more Motrin, undressed him to hopefully cool him down a little bit. Awe he was just pure miserable. He'd stare at me with the saddest eyes and I knew without even saying a word to me that he just was hurting. I just didn't know why.

My mom and my little sister, Chan, came over at 7:30am so I could do her hair for her dance competition. And while I was doing that Cy went over to my bed, crawled up to my pillow and laid his head down and fell asleep almost instantly. Oh it's just so sad and strangely sweet at the same time.

I headed off to work once Heidi arrived at the house. My heart was torn. I felt like I should be there for my baby, but at the same time I needed to work. I Thank the dear Lord for blessing me with a wonderful Mother and Mother-in-Law who can be the extension to my hands.

While I was at work I arranged an appointment for Heidi to take Cy to InstaCare. Also a friend of mine from work, Harmoni, offered to watch Ryker while Heidi took Cy. Bless her heart!

At InstaCare they diagnosed Cy with an Ear Infection.

By the end of Saturday Cy was doing lots better. His temperature was down and his personality had returned. He has to take antibiotics twice a day for ten days. Also that night Jesse and his Dad (Mike) gave Cy a priesthood blessing!

Thank heavens for modern medicine. Thank Heavens for Friends and Family so willing to lend a helping and loving hand! THANK HEAVENS for the Priesthood! And Thank Heavens Cy is feeling and doing much better! There is nothing worse for a parent than to have their little ones sick.