Updates

I have just updated for the past couple of months- keep strolling down. Sorry for all the pictures!

The New Belly Button

On March 16 Elle had her umbilical hernia repair done at the Children's Hospital. She was so excited to FINALLY have it fixed (just like Paige's) and to be at the hospital (just like Mommy's work). We prepared her with stories and a slide show that the hospital website provided so that she new exactly what was going to happen. It worked- she new step by step what was going to happen and was so BRAVE!!! She couldn't eat or drink for at least 12 hours before and had to be distracted while we waited for them to take her to surgery. We read books, watched a movie, took pictures (Elle is quite the photographer...haha), and played with some of the toys that they had. They finally called for "Elle Baker" and she wanted to go with the nurse all by herself- no tears or anything (she chose bubble gum tasting anesthetic and was pretty excited about that). She held her hand and didn't even look back. Jared and I had tears in our eyes as we watched her go all the way down the long hallway towards the OR. We waited and waited for her to get into recovery. Dr. Wong came out afterwards and talked to Jared and I- the hernia was bigger than he expected, but it's fixed and went well, they removed a cyst off the end that they sent away for biopsy (it came back clean)- we were pretty anxious to get to see Elle at this point though.

This is after she got out of recovery. She was so "drugged up" that when she saw Jared she cried and said "Mommy" then held her breathe, turned blue, passed out, and they called a CODE BLUE (I felt like the worst mom ever for not being there when she needed me). I was talking to my mom giving her an update at this point and once I heard the Code overhead I ran back into Day Surgery knowing that it was Elle- I just had a feeling something was going to go wrong. She was fine after she passed out, but everyone was pretty nervous and watched her pretty close (she had O2 on for over 12 hours because she couldn't maintain her oxygen levels). They wanted to have her stay overnight so they could watch her and once she actually woke up- she liked being the center of attention with all the staff and getting to eat as many popsicles as she wanted.


This is her bandage that they drew for her- she LOVED it and would show anyone that would look....they bank lady, friends, the nursery teachers, neighbors.

This entire experience really made me reflect on how much I LOVE her! She is so special to us. It made us so sad to know that she was hurting and I would have done anything to change places with her. I love her so much and it brings tears to my eyes to think about this experience- it was so stressful. It broke my heart. The staff at the hospital were amazing and took such good care of us. Thank you- we really appreciate everything! Elle is healing awesome and doing really well. It's amazing to see how quickly she recovered. The NEW BELLY BUTTON looks awesome and we are excited for bathing suits!!! I love you Elle!!

Fairmont Ski Vacation

We had so much fun going out to Fairmont, BC with the Woolf family for a skiing vacation. It just so happened that it was also during the Olympics so we were able to watch and LOUDLY cheer on the athletes from Canada. It was so fun to do this together with my family- they are HUGE Canada fans! We had fun watching olympics, swimming, playing games, eating, taking walks, and just hanging out. Perfect holiday! I hope that my kids will always appreciate and have fun memories with all the sounds, smells, and sites from Fairmont just like I have from when I was young. This trip is pretty special to me because Elle tried skiing for her very first time- she loved it for about 45 min and then wanted to "get these sticks off her feet". I learned how to ski on this exact same hill when I was young. It made me smile to see her in between Jared's ski's coming down the hill. Here are a few pictures from the trip. Beware...my girls are pretty cute (not that I'm biased or anything) haha.


She was so cute...but had to be able to feel her dad behind her or she would lay down until she found him. haha.

I love my sister- GO CANADA GO!!!

Paige was so cute swimming with her tongue out the entire time. She would probably drink that entire pool if we let her. haha. What a goof!

All the cousins chilling outside in the hot tub- it was pretty chilly outside, but so much fun...watch out for falling rocks though!!! haha


This little sister LOVES the park- and wants to be so independent. She goes down the slide all by herself and laughs the entire time. She is so different this way than Elle is- not cautious at all!



Jared and I also were able to go on a date while we were there. It was so much fun going skiing/snowboarding together and enjoying something that we both love doing together. It's been so long since we have both done this together- what a fun date it was too! The view was amazing- did I mention that I LOVE Fairmont??

happy birthday to elle...you're 3!!!

We are so excited that Elle is 3!!! We had such a fun weekend celebrating. It started off with a "Pinkalicious Birthday Party" on Saturday. We had pink decorations, pink party favors, pink birthday outfit, pink birthday cake, and pink food!!! Elle was in HEAVEN!!! We invited a bunch of friends over and had fun decorating wands, reading the "pinkalicious book", playing with pink balloons, and eating cake. We love having parties at our house!
Sunday, Jared's parents had a birthday dinner and party for all the March Birthdays that are in the family. We brought the left over "giant cupcake" that we made to share with everyone and Elle enjoyed everyone singing "happy birthday" to her. She always say right along with everyone and would say "happy birthday to me"..haha. What a silly lady!
Monday was Elle's actual real birthday...she woke up to her gifts her all of us and a special breakfast. We made a point to put a candle in each meal for her so we could sing. She LOVED it!!! We played together as a family with all of Elle's princess dress up stuff and enjoyed a dance party. It was so relaxing and fun to stay home and just play all day long. For supper Elle chose McDonalds...so off we went to join a few friends at the playplace in MacDonalds. We ate cupcakes and sang again.
What a fun weekend that we had celebrating this little princess' special day. We love Elle so much. She is so much fun and has such a sweet personality. I can't believe that she's 3 already...and that she somehow convinced her dad to dress up in princess attire, including earings. haha. What a good Daddy!



The cake look a little bit cuter once it was half eaten...then we just layed it on it's side and it still looked pretty good. She definitely LOVED all the birthday cake that she ate all weekend long.

I won! I actually won!!!

Some people may be thinking...why enter contest, they probably just make up the winner...well that's what I have been thinking lately until my BIG WIN!!!! You don't even understand how super excited I am right now. I can't wait till it arrives - http://www.modsblog.com/ you are the greatest!!! I am in LOVE right now.

I guess I am in need of a big WIN!!!

Here is another giveaway that I am entering...I LOVE it!!! and I love their blog. You need to go and check it out; such cute ideas and some amazing talent! So the giveaway this time is an amazing ribbon organizer. I would LOVE one of these is a cupboard looking so beautiful just like this. So go and check it out!
I really must be feeling the winter blues or something...I need to WIN something or go on a nice vacation!! haha.

Shabby Apple Shakespeare Garden Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

This is super cute...and I WANT IT!!! It makes me so happy all yellow and springish. Go check it out!!!

Shabby Apple Shakespeare Garden Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!