Punch Party

Today, Grace and I had our first Mommy/Daughter date (BethAnne and I have been having these dates occasionally for a couple years). We went to ice cream and then we went to Kohls to pick out a present (I had a coupon for $10 off a purchase of $10 or more). Grace picked out this great punch (tea) set (which ended up costing $3 with the coupon). The cups turn dark pink when you pour cold water in them so it wasn't hard to convince the girls that it was a punch set. All the girls had a blast with the punch party, especially when I added some organic animal crackers into the mix. We love our sweet girls! Happy weekend!
Love,
Aubrey

PB and Joy

Today I finished off the jar of Peanut Butter (as much as is reasonable with peanut butter). I thought Joy might like to play with the jar, so I gave it to her (with the top on). Then she got a butter knife out of the drawer to go with her jar, so I got out a big spoon and scraped a little bit off peanut butter out of the mostly emptly jar. I tried to give it her the spoon (without the jar), but she protested and then I remembered that her newest thing is that she has to spoon all of her food herself. So I gave her the jar and the spoon and she went to town. She was like a kid in a candy store, it was so cute. Daisy really wanted to get in on the action too (which is why she's in most of the pictures). Have a great weekend!
Love,
Aubrey

Spaghettios

For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to give Joy a bowl of spaghettios and a spoon while we finished making dinner for everyone. (she usually does okay with a bowl and spoon). Joy was quiet and happy the whole time, and I didn't notice why until later. She was one big spaghettios mess, and she's so cute! She hasn't been much of a messy eater in the past, so I thought I better document this time.

This week has been a little difficult. Just when I thought we were free of illness and ready for Spring, Joy, Grace and I came down with the flu (even though we all had flu shots). It was a little scary because Joy came down with it first, just a few days after she had the intussusception. The doctors had told us to be careful to watch for fever and vomiting, so we were pretty stressed out when she got a fever and started throwing up. I didn't think I'd ever be relieved to have my child test positive for influenza, but that's a lot less serious than some of the complications with intussusception. The pediatrician sent us to the pediatric surgeon on Monday even after she tested positive for influenza, just to make sure there was nothing else going on. The surgeon said she was okay on Monday, and then we went back for our scheduled visit with the other surgeon on Wednesday and there was still no sign of complication. The doctor says she shouldn't have any lasting complications from the intussusception (except that it could happen again, so we'll watch for that). So we're starting to feel better now and we're hoping to stay healthy for awhile.

Have a great week!
Love,
Aubrey

BethAnne's baptism and Joy's new favorite place

Dear Family and Friends,

We've had a busy week. BethAnne was baptized on Saturday and Lisa and her family came up from Logan to be here for it. The baptism was really sweet. BethAnne really seemed to understand the covenant she was making and she took it seriously. We are really proud of her for everything she has overcome and for her faith and goodness. She has become an awesome helper these last few months, I'm so grateful for her. She looked so beautiful in her white dress.

Our sweet Joy gave us a bit of a scare on Thursday evening when she started crying and crying in pain, but we couldn't figure out what was wrong. After Mark and a neighbor gave her a blessing, she calmed down a lot, but we felt impressed to take her to the E.R. in downtown Boise. We felt lucky to get a doctor who believed us about how upset she had been because she seemed totally fine by the time we got to the E.R. After listening to her symptoms and doing some testing, they found that she had had an intussusception, which is where the bowel folds in on itself. The condition can be really serious if not treated in time, so we are so grateful that she was diagnosed and treated. We have to follow up with the pediatric surgeon next week, and there may be more testing, but we are hoping that she'll be okay now.

The last two pictures are of Joy enjoying her new favorite place- the backyard. She often brings me her shoes because no matter what the time or weather, she wants to go outside. She's so cute! We are so excited for spring to come, I can feel it just around the corner. I hope you all have a great week. We love you!