Christmas Photos

I just tried uploading some Christmas Photos of Kyla I took, but it's taking forever, so if you'd like to see, go to www.ambervancephotography.com and you can see them.  :)

Things have been going well for the most part.  We are trying to get our last minute Christmas shopping done, it's been a little difficult.  Greg is always working and I'm always with Kyla - never have a babysitter, and I'm not supposed to lift over 25 lbs, which is how much Kyla weighs, so outings have been difficult.  I still do them, even though I'm not supposed to, really don't have any other choice than to lift my kid in and out of her car seat and in and out of shopping carts.  Such is life!  I do not plan to take much time off for Christmas, but may take 1 day this week.  Only working 3 days/week is fairly easy to pull off, although I have been using some vacation for doctor's appointments lately.

Baby stuff is going OK.  Still stressful.  We had a doctor appt last Tuesday and the doctor couldn't hear the baby's heartbeat with the doppler.  I'm not exactly sure how many weeks pregnant I am...I was under the impression that I am just 10 weeks but the doctor thought I was 12.  They are supposed to be re-calculating what my due date is, which will tell me how many weeks I am.  Anyway, at 10 weeks is it just barely possible to hear the heartbeat with the doppler, so I wasn't too alarmed.  The doctor did tell me that if I really wanted to hear it, he could lift up my uterus with his hand and push it up more against my belly and try to hear it that way.  I was like "No thank you!,"  hello....what woman would want that, especially with the complications that I have had and the fact that he had told me I'm supposed to be being careful right now.  Anyway, up until just about an hour or so ago I really hadn't felt baby flutters since Friday evening, but I finally felt some good ones just a bit ago when Kyla was rubbing my belly.  She only calls the baby "baby sister"....baby sister must've known her big sister was talking about her.

Ky's been a really good girl lately, she is definitely not getting coal for Christmas.  She is getting more and more fun everyday. 

My cousin who is one semester away from his degree in graphic design made me a logo for my photography yesterday.  I haven't got the final product yet, but I'm pumped.  It looks really professional and I can't wait to update my photos and website.

I probably won't do another post before Christmas, so Merry Christmas everyone!

Man Up Men!

I like what this dude has to say; particularly the first half of the video.  I'll embed later.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7391893n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

My Beautiful Daughter

Thought I would check back in this week.  I am off of bed rest, as of last Tuesday and am so glad to be out of the house and living life as usual (sort of).  We had a doctor appointment Tuesday morning and that went alright.  The doctor said we still have about a 30% chance of losing the baby, and what I am experiencing is something they call a Threatened Abortion.  Nice terminology huh?  Ugh, I wanted to like cry just hearing him say this stuff to me, but I didn't.  He remembered Kyla and her delivery and the shock of her arm...at the end of the appointment he gave me a hug and that's why I like him.  He knows what we have already been through and the stress we are going through now.  It's definitely scary knowing that at any moment for at least 4 more weeks my baby could just all of a sudden you know...we could lose the baby and I could be anywhere...  I try not to think about this too much because I trust that once again God has something in store for us.  I am pretty sure this little baby is going to make it.  As soon as I found out I was pregnant I put in a prayer request at church for them to be praying for a healthy baby and healthy pregnancy.  This was on a Sunday and the following Wednesday I got a phone call from a Pastor at the church letting me know that they would be praying for me, our family and the baby.  Now people who talk crap about large churches, what do you think about that?  I have gone to small churches that wouldn't be that quick to call and discuss prayer requests with their church members.  I just feel like there are so many people praying for this baby, including myself, and my Husband and this is just another one of those deals.  I have always felt that life hasn't been a piece of cake for me...and it really hasn't... but like I have always believed, I think there is a reason for that.  So to make a long story short, if we can make it to 10 weeks, the risk of losing the baby will go down to 2%.  I am 10 weeks in about 3.5 weeks.  Not too much longer. 

Kyla on the other hand has been doing amazingly well.  She literally shocks me with how smart she is on almost a daily basis.  Her memory is like weird good, she is now saying her ABC's up until the letter G and the things she says just crack us up.  Last night we went out to dinner at sort of a nicer restaurant and the kid now plays a like peek-a-boo game with armie.  The peek-a-boo game consists of her pulling her armie inside her shirt, lifting up her shirt and poking it out by her belly, then pulling it back in and poking armie out her sleeve...then pulling it in and pulling her shirt up and sticking armie out by her belly...the entire time she is doing this she is having a great time, just thinks it's hilarious.  Well last night she starts doing this at the restaurant and I'm like "Kyla put your shirt down!!!" and of course my Husband is just cracking up and egging her on.  UGH.... I'm sure people are already watching her and to top that off she decides to put on a show for them.  LOL. 

We go in a little over a week for an ultrasound...make sure baby is still alive.  Talk about stress, right?  I'll be nervous for that one.  One thing though, I know without any doubt that whatever happens is God's plan and I don't doubt what he has planned for me.  I can rest in knowing that.

Fun Stuff

Sooo some news....  my Hubby and I are expecting baby #2.  Kyla is about to become a big Sister!  I am really excited for her.  I am only about 4 - 6 weeks along, so not much, but we should have another baby by early July, 2012.  I have been thinking about having 2 babies and honestly I somewhat think "what in the heck am I doing?"  LOL....let's be honest, babies are a lot of work, they are your entire world, but they also are so rewarding.  Looking back, life without kids was so self-centered and so boring.  My Hubby and I had kind of planned to try for another baby in October and honestly up until October I wasn't ready, but as soon as October hit, I was open to the idea.  I thought about Kyla being an only child and that was definately something we did not want for her.  This sibling is more for her than for me, I want her to have someone she can be close with growing up and someone who will be there for her after we are gone...of course let's hope that will be a while from now, but seeing her play around the house, she is so bored and she needs a little friend!  She will have that soon and I think she will be a really good helper.  She actually is so funny...she is a little cleaner...if she spills her milk she runs to the kitchen to get a towel and wipes it up, or she grabs a kleenex and wipes it up.  As soon as she comes in the house she takes her jacket off, runs to the closet and puts it in the closet, along with her shoes.  If she drops some of her food on the food while she is eating, she will squak and won't eat until I clean it up.  She's a pretty good girl and I think she'll be a little Mama to this baby. 

On that note, I have been having some complications with this baby and am currently on bed rest.  UGH...really not fun at all.  I'm supposed to do at least 7 more days of it until my Doctor gets back in town next week but I don't know if I can last that long.  As soon as I got to work last Thursday and walked from the parking lot, up 2 flights of stairs and into my cubicle, I hemorrhaged.  This was not fun...I was pretty much freaking out at work and as soon as I saw what was going on, I grabbed my stuff and left.  I figured I was loosing the baby and of course didn't want that to happen while I was at work.  I did blood work Thursday to test hormone levels and was supposed to go back in Saturday to do more blood work, but I didn't.  Instead I asked for an ultrasound on Friday and at first the intern ultrasound tech couldn't find anything.  We thought baby was gone, but then he went to get his instructor to see if she could find anything.  Right away she found baby and baby's heart was beating, 111 beats/minute which is a tad bit slow but I guess this is normal for how early the pregnancy is.  So that was a huge relief.  My Hubby and I have been so stressed the past few days.  It is so weird, like having a child already, even if your only like 4 weeks pregnant or whatever, you still have another heart beating inside of you and that little bitty thing will someday be a 2-year old running around the house squealing. 

Yesterday morning we finally got in to talk to a doctor and spent 4 hours between that appointment and doing blood work/other tests and getting my RhoGAM shot at the hospital.  5 vials of blood drawn, 1 pee test and 1 RhoGAM shot in the butt and I got to go home.  I was so tired....I am already having some morning sickness, not puking yet, thank goodness, but I'm sure that's not too long from now.  I had to do the RhoGAM shot, which I do not like yesterday because my blood is negative and my Husband's is positive and since I am already experiencing some bleeding, if the two mix, my body will start forming antibodies against the baby and attack it....if this is left untreated (not getting the shot) for like 70 hours, then there is nothing that can be done...my body would basically just kill the baby because it see's it as something foreign that isn't supposed to be there.  The blood work I did tested to see if my baby was already making antibodies and it wasn't, so then I got the RhoGAM shot, which this is the same shot that I did a ton of research on when I had to get it when I was pregnant with Kyla and paid $100 out of pocket to get the safest version out there, HyperRho.  Well I could've had HyperRho overnighted to me and got it today, but the doctor didn't want to wait any longer and I didn't really want to either, so I risked the mercury that is in the shot (even though they say there is none) and not as much purification process of the blood that makes up the shot and just got it.  Anyway that is a lot of info., but I also have a new Manager that started this week and I haven't been there.  Horrible timing as far as that is concerned.  I am hoping this baby will be healthy and not have any issues and the rest of the pregnancy will go well.  I've been taking my prenatal vitamins since the day after I found out I was pregnant so I'm doing everything I can to grow a healthy baby!  Anyhow, so that's what's been going on.  I can't lift Kyla anymore and so we changed her crib into a toddler bed just a few days ago.  I thought for sure she would be getting in and out all night, that we would find her asleep on her bedroom floor, that she wouldn't take her naps, she would be jumping off her bed onto the floor constantly, but none of this has happened, she is such a good little girl, just goes to bed and stays in her bed until we come get her.  Love her so much.  By the way, I've decided that doing this 2 times is plenty.  I don't think there will be anymore babies.  Too much stress and worry involved, and feeling crappy!  Two little chickens is good for me.  :)  This body is not made to make babies, let me tell ya!!   Women who say it is a wonderful experience, nothing better in the world....ummm no, they are just plain crazy.    

Woman Who Lost Her Hands and Feet Receives Double Hand Transplant

Woman Who Lost Her Hands and Feet Receives Double Hand Transplant: A young woman who lost her hands and feet to an infection about four years ago is recuperating after undergoing a double hand transplant. “The patient is doing extremely well,” said Dr. L. Scott Levin who led the team of doctors. “She’s progressing very well through...

Latest News

To those who still keep up with my blog thank for continuing to check back in.  I've been pretty busy with this photography stuff and haven't had much time to write blog posts.  Anyway, Halloween is approaching and Kyla will be Little Red Riding Hood this year.  I hope she doesn't flip out about the costume being too tight, or won't wear her red shawl.  She is picky about how tight her clothes are (she gets this from me, I lived in spandex and leggings as long as I could when I was a little girl until I finally had to start wearing jeans and I can still remember flipping out pulling on my jeans because they were too tight)!  A bunch of us got together this past weekend and carved pumpkins, I did a Mickey Mouse pumpkin which Kyla LOVES, a snow white pumpkin (which I'm still working on...it's a tad difficult) and Greg did a regular ol' pumpkin face pumpkin.  The kids also cut out sugar cookies and watched Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin or whatever.  It was a fun night!  Greg is now working a lot in his part time job.  He worked 60 hours last week.  Poor guy, but he is taking care of our family and getting us ready for the future, which is good.  Kyla is hilarious...she is so funny and cracks me up a lot.  She is starting to run around the house and squeel at the top of her voice all while laughing at the same time.  She hates to get her diaper changed, so most of the time I've got to chase her around the house and she runs super fast, squealing super loud and laughing at the same time because she doesn't want me to catch her.  If I'm not in a hurry this usually cracks me up.  If I'm in a hurry, it's super annoying.  LOL.  I swear the kid is so slow and anyone who knows me knows that I'm always in a hurry and always late.  This combo doesn't work well with a 2 year old.  I got her ready to go to church all by myself this weekend by 9 am, but I was huffing and puffing by the time I got to my seat and was a tad bit late.  Hmmm what else.  I got a new manager at work...I just met her today.  She seems nice, but I'm not sure how things will turn out, hopefully good.  Kyla got her Annual Limb Differences Social invite in the mail a few days ago from Seattle Children's Hospital.  It is in mid-November.  I would like to take her this year.  I think she is old enough that she will be able to get something from it.  Even if it is a 3 hour drive and probably not in the best weather.  We will see.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned it here yet or not, but Kyla knows how to count to 10 no problems and has for a while now.  She is also starting to say her ABCs and we practice her letters in the tub when she takes a bath.  Hope everyone is doing well and has a good Halloween.

My Photography Blog

For anyone who would like to follow my photography, as I get better, do shoots for family and friends, etc., please access my new site:
 
http://www.ambervancephotography.com/

I also started a Facebook page which I seem to keep more up-to-date than the blog.  Check that out if you wish, Amber Vance Photography and 'Like' it!  :)

I'm still doing this just as a hobby, and wanted somewhere to show my works, so I have started this site.  Hope you like it.

Amber

Brief Break

Welp, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, eh?  Let me just say, September was one heck of a month, and not in a good way.  LOL.  I blocked access to my blog for a while and decided to return it.  I told my Hubby that I had blocked access and he was like “well then people who want to know more about ABS won’t be able to read it.”  I said that I knew that, but I am pretty sure people who just wanted information on what all was going on with our family were accessing it and not with good intentions.  So to those people… get a life, OK?  Now, on to important things.  I enjoy writing, always have.  I can remember being like in elementary school, having a diary and writing about things that were going on in my life, like about my dogs dying, about my parents fighting, about my parents divorcing, about who my best-friends were at school, etc. etc.  Then once I hit high school and started dating guys, I started writing again.  I still have both of these diaries, but the high school/after high school one is a doozey.  I was one of those girls who always wanted my first kiss to be with the man that I would marry.  I waited for my first kiss till I was 16 and wasted it on one heck of a loser, grown up man.  Literally.  He was 4 years older than me and out of high school…his intentions were not good ones and I luckily got away from that relationship the moment God gave me a fairly large wake up call.  Then came a few others that were alright but not too special, then came my first love.  That relationship was full of young kid issues and eventually dissipated, then came my Hubby.  He was the last one in my diary that I wrote about…  he didn’t make me cry, he didn’t break my heart.  Sure we had some issues in the start, but eventually worked through them.  That’s when I stopped writing.  Then with the birth of Kyla, I started up again on this blog.  The thing about an electronic version of a diary is it’s out there, for everyone to read…and unfortunately there are plenty of people who do not have good intentions and are only looking to gather information.  So, although I love to write about all things, I’m going to try to refrain from going into personal details too much and try to keep the focus of this on little Kyla.  I’ve also decided to start a separate blog for my photography.  Granted this is just a hobby of mine.  It’s fun for me to do, I’m not trying to call myself an actual photographer, because I barely have a clue, but I’m working hard on getting better and want to display my photos, so I plan to do that soon.  I’ve always been into art, but again, stopped doing that about 8 years ago. 

My family took a trip to the Oregon Coast at the start of the month and we camped for 5 nights.  Pretty sure this was the longest I’ve ever camped in my life!  It was a nice break, but I could’ve used a hotel or vacation share the last night.  Our laundry was so filthy by the time we got back home, LOL.  Good times.  I took almost 400 photos while at the coast and unfortunately purchased a corrupt memory card right before leaving.  I lost all but about 4 photos of my baby girl.  Even paid a data recovery geek to try to recover them for me.  No luck.  Totally bummed out about that, but I’m looking forward to shooting again and have something planned for this weekend.  Kyla began potty training last week and Friday, Sep 30^th was her first time using the potty.  I was so proud of her.  Unfortunately she isn’t too into her potty anymore.  I thought for sure we were going to be like on our way to getting out of diapers.  My child is so hard headed - she does what she wants to do and that’s final.  We have also been discussing making a big decision for our family soon, so I’ve been pre-occupied thinking about that.  Won’t say what it is right now.  We will see what the future holds.  I volunteered in our church nursery twice last month.  Those little kids sure are fun, but lots of work.  There were 13 little ones both times I volunteered and just me and two other gals.  The criers liked me for some reason.  I think because I picked them up and tried to make them all better, which usually worked.  I brag about how one little girl who only ever lasted 10 minutes in the nursery lasted the entire service – just call me the baby-whisperer.  :)  More later.

Emmanuel Kelly

Check this guy out on YouTube.  There are several videos of him there, heart-warming story.

Coast Trip

Going to the coast in just a few hours.  I'm behind on blogging, but will get caught up when we return.  For now, these past two weeks have been full of fun stressors and I'm ready for a break!  Going to my most favorite place, Cape Lookout.  Update you all next week. 

Amber

Past Two Nights

The past two nights have been eventful.  Greg's Sister Amanda and her fiance Stephanie were in town the past week and a half from New York.  We went out Thursday night to celebrate her last night in town.  Whenever Amanda is in town and Greg and her get together they both drink way too much and both get sick.  LOL, this time was no different than the rest.  Last night I planned a night out with our friends just for fun and we all had lots of fun.  Here are some photos of the past two nights:  (P.S.  I will post a blog on Kyla's 2nd bday party here sometime soon, when I get time)

 Stephanie, Greg, Me and Amanda (I was not drinking, hence, the no smile :))

 Lesly, Spencer, Me, Greg, Andrea, Josh, Rob, Shelley and Jen

 Me, Greg, Greg's brother Peter, Peter and Amanda's brother Aaron, Stephanie and Amanda

 All dressed up!  Rob, Shelley, Greg and Moi

 So cute, Amanda and Kyla...  They babysat for me for a couple hours while I ran b-day party errands.

Kyla cheesing it up with Stephanie while they babysat.

Couple More 2 Yr Photos

I've been having asthma problems and a little bit of a cold the past two days so have been home.  Pretty sure it's from all of the fires we have or are currently having in Washington state.  Hoping it clears up soon.  Thought I was going to have to go to the ER yesterday but luckily didn't have to once I got to my home where the air is cleaner.  Here are a few more edited photos of Kyla.

Once again, these photos come through so distorted sometimes (not sure why) so be sure to click on them.  :)

Kyla's 2 Yr Photos

Kyla is 2 on September 5th.  I have not had professional photos taken of her since she was 6 months old.  Had a bad experience the last time, so that is pretty much why I have gotten somewhat into photography, so that I can take them myself.  I did these last night.  It was so hot and Kyla was so uncooperative but none-the-less I still got a few good ones.  Here are some I have edited so far.  I also am now doing a trial of Photoshop Lightroom and love it!  Pretty sure I'll end up purchasing it after my trial expires.  I made the headband for her and her necklace.  You can't see it too well from the photos but I also had her in Huggies Jean diapers.  I've signed up to take a "how to use your DLSR" photography class from a local photographer on September 8th.  Really looking forward to that.

 Excuse the messy hair and hairbrush in this one.  :) 

 

Random Person Approaches Us

Last night we attended a local baseball game here in town with some friends.  It was Kyla's first baseball game and she did really good; a lot better than I thought she would!  Her boyfriend/bestfriend from daycare happened to be sitting two rows below us so those two little bugs had to sit in the aisle right next to each other almost the entire game.  Blocking all traffic like they owned the place!  They were sooo cute!  The little boy's name is Brennan and Kyla and him freak out when they see each other in the mornings at daycare...they're about two months apart, he is older...match made in Heaven right?  :)  So we were enjoying the game then decided to head down to the concessions to get something to eat.  I had just finished doctoring up our hot dogs and we were getting ready to head back up to our seats when some random dude with about a 3 year old daughter walks up to us and asks my Husband how he's doing.  My Husband was holding Kyla and was like "ugh good...," like should I know you type thing and then the guy just blirts out "I have a niece who is missing her lower right arm, like her" and proceeds to tell us her story.  It was random but neat... apparently the girl just turned 1 and lives in Idaho.  The guy asked if it was ABS and we said yes.  Then after a few minutes of talking, he walked away and we went back to our seats to finish the game.  This is the first time this has happened to us and I literally didn't even  notice the guy looking or anything.  I've noticed that I'm getting alot better about not caring, which is good.  I don't really even think about it anymore, around adults...I'm still not good with kids, but I think that also has to do with the fact that all the other kids that are around Kyla know her and know of her situation so it's not even an issue.  I don't really do the whole look around to see who's looking thing anymore and that is nice.

Anyway I've been pretty busy planning Kyla's second birthday party.  It will be next Sunday; a little early since I'm doing it while Greg's Sister is in town visiting from New York.  The theme this year is Bubble Guppies, which is Kyla's favorite cartoon.  And as you might have guessed, I've already spent WAY too much money on this party!  LOL, I can't help myself though...she is worth it!  So I've got the personalized edible cake topper, the iron-on decal t-shirt, the personalized banner, personalized invitations and Bubble Guppies pin-back buttons for everyone who attends.  :)  Thank goodness for Ebay and Etsy!  Kyla is going to LOVE it!  She has been scoping out all of the stuff I've been ordering and puts her face all up in the screen of my laptop and says "guppy guppies" over and over :)  We've also got an entire softball complex to ourselves just for Kyla's party which has an aquatic park and toys and a shaded picnic area.  A month or so ago I found a mini bounce house off of Craigslist and we will have that there as well.  Should be a blast!  I'll be sure to post photos. 

Speaking of photos, I've also been planning a special photo shoot of Kyla and was hoping to do it today but never got around to it.  I made her a couple things to make it special.  I'm hoping the photos will turn out really well, but not sure how much she will sit still  for me and wear what I'm planning to put on her!  We will see :)  I'll post those photos as well.  Hope everyone is doing well.

Photos

The whole fam has been sick the past few days, so this is going to be a quick deal.  I haven't posted in a while but am also not in the mood to put too much thought into this.  Last week I submitted a couple of my photos to our local newspaper and then found out this morning from someone on Facebook that one of them made it in.  They never sent me an email back or anything saying that it would be published,  but it was, so that was kind of cool, LOL, I guess to probably only the older folks that still read the newspaper.  I get it sometimes just for coupons, which I hardly do anymore.  Anyhow...Friday night we went out to dinner and a few drinks with friends before heading to see Daniel Tosh.  We were in the 5th row, he was like smack dab in front of me.  He was OK, but I wasn't like dying laughing or anything.  Yesterday we were feeling horrible so stayed home most of the day and again today.  Greg mowed the lawn yesterday and installed an air bag kit on his friend's truck so he was gone most of the day.  Kyla had to be held by Greg the entire time he was mowing the front yard, super sweet...she laid her head down on his shoulder for about half the time.  She LOVES her Daddy...  I also bought her a butterfly catching game at the store.  Her and I played it after dinner tonight, she likes it but isn't quite quick enough yet.  She'll get there.  I'm going to go hack up a lung now.  :)  Everyone have a good night. 

 

Kyla's First "Sleep-Over"

This weekend we were lucky enough to be able to spend some time with our Niece Averi.  Kyla loves her being here and is almost a completely different kid with another playmate around.  Very cute; she watches everything Averi does and follows her around everywhere.  Friday night I went out with a friend for martinis and a movie.  It was nice to just get a little Mommy time, even if it was just 3 hours...3 hours was enough time away from my baby.  It is so funny, you look forward to those moments, but then when you get them, you still hurry home to your baby.  :)  Saturday I picked up Averi mid-morning and got ready to go boating with friends up to an island just past where I work.  We stayed there for about 4 hours before the heat wiped us out.  Averi had fun as did Kyla.  Kyla got her first face plant in the river (face first) thanks to her cousin pushing her in.  Averi is 6 and apparently did not understand why Kyla couldn't just get up after she got pushed in.  Luckily my hubby was right there and was able to get Kyla up soon after she hit the water.  Poor girl.  Averi spent the night Saturday and this was Kyla's first "sleep over."  :)  Sunday morning we all got ready for church and after church my Sister picked up Averi from us.  There were several occasions this weekend where Averi said that other kids on the beach were making fun of Kyla and laughing at her.  I didn't see it, but doesn't mean it didn't happen, it probably did.  I told Averi, "oh well, that's OK...."  Yesterday after Sunday School Averi told me that her class had walked by the nursery and saw Kyla and that other kids were making fun of her.  There is no way her class saw Kyla and was making fun of her, since she is in the nursery and you can hardly see the babies from the hallway.  I'm not sure why Averi felt that she needed to keep saying this, but it doesn't matter, maybe it's just what 6 year olds do.  Who knows.  There was another instance this weekend where Kyla's arm was talked about...  the fact that Kyla is just on the verge of being able to understand completely, means that I'm going to have to start putting a stop to all of this whenever it comes up.  Like any conversation about "Kyla's arm" isn't going to happen, doesn't matter if it's family that is talking about it or just some random person; there is no need to make a big deal out of it.  Being around other kids this weekend makes my daughter seem like an angel.  LOL, she really is super sweet...even if I say she has her moments, she is still a baby, but she has such a sweet heart.  I mean the kid isn't even 2 and she burps and says "excuse me" in her sweet little baby voice.  She says please, thank you, sorry...most of the time all on her own.  When she hits, she doesn't get away with it..., she is disciplined.  It's just funny seeing other little kids and then seeing her.  I think she'll be a very well manner child and that's what we want.  :)  This coming Wednesday I am taking Kyla to see Sesame Street, a touring play type thing with some friends and their kids.  We are getting a suite, so there will be 12 of us, only one poor guy is being dragged along and it's not my Husband :)  should be fun.  Friday we are going on a date to see Daniel Tosh with some of our friends.  He isn't my favorite comedian, but it should still be a good time.  I'll post some pictures of Kyla and Averi here soon, when I get some time.  For now I've got to get to cleaning, folding laundry and doing bills.  The un-fun stuff.

What is Meant to Be Will Be

I've been brainstroming this post for the past few weeks...  today's topic is on the things I did and did not do during my pregnancy.  There is one thing I did not do during my pregnancy that I hold some guilt for.  Although I'm not positive this contributed to Kyla's ABS, I don't think it helped any.

Kyla was not planned, but once I became pregnant, I knew that I was and put off buying a pregnancy test until I was at about 6 weeks a long.  As soon as I found out, I was very careful about what I put on and and into my body.  I didn't use aerosol hair products, only pump sprays, I did not wear nail polish or use nail polish remover, I did not dye my hair, I stopped using aluminum filled deodorant and switched to a natural product, I ate healthy and ate small portions of food on a frequent basis (which they say is good for baby because it provides them with a steady flow of nutrients to help them develop).  Although I was very sick my first trimester, I craved fruit and it was about the only thing I could hold down for a long while.  I remember making a trip to the grocery store one morning and buying tons of fruit, driving home and eating as much of it as I could, because I was so hungry, but couldn't eat anything else.  One evening I finally got tired of being so hungry, told the Husband we were going to IHOP, ordered a huge plate of breakfast type food and ended up hugging the toliet as soon as we got home.  LOL, the sickness was pretty miserable, but then again, the majority of the pregnancy was (minus the 2nd trimester).  After my first trimester the sickness stopped and my diet changed to less fruits and more of a balanced diet.  Back then I did not take a multi-vitamin because I hate pills, but I knew I needed them, so I tried prenatal vitamins but they made me very sick to my stomach, so I tried just half, and even tried just regular multi-vitamins.  Every vitamin pill I tried didn't set well with my stomach, so I was not good about taking them...  my first OB doctor didn't ask me if I was taking them either, so I figured as long as I was eating well, it probably wasn't too big of a deal.  Well truth is, it probably was.  Although I do wonder if by me doing this, I was the cause of Kyla's condition, but I am not convinced this is the case.  I even went as far as to research for countless hours about a Rh factor blood injection I had to get in my butt while I was pregnant with Kyla because my Husband and I's blood didn't agree with one another.  There was something about this shot that would make sure that Kyla was OK while I was carrying her and once she was born.  Since I'm kind of a freak about any kind of medicine (I make sure I know what I'm taking before taking it, etc.), I read up on the shot a lot before taking it and found that the injection typically given to pregnant women contains trace amounts of mercury.  It's not proven, but they say that Mercury is linked to Autism.......so I spent a TON of time finding a company that made an Rh factor shot that contained absolutely NO Mercury. I called hospital pharmacies, I called regular pharmacies and companies that manufacture the shot.  Since I live in a fairly small town I was told over and over that I should "just take the regular shot, there was nothing wrong with it, women get it all the time."  I didn't settle for that and eventually found a pharmacy that would order me the shot I wanted!!  Cost me $100.00 out-of-pocket, but I didn't care.  The shot is made of actual blood (although it's not colored) so I had to take it straight home from the pharmacy, and put it in my fridge and, straight to the doctors office where they injected me with it there.  A huge pain, but I felt like it wasn't worth the risk to inject myself with Mercury while carrying my child.  Moral of the story is, although I was very careful with what I was and wasn't doing (minus the vitamins, which was a big mistake and I won't do that again if I get pregnant in the future)...you can't control what does and does not happen.  You can try your best to do most everything right, but what is meant to be will be and what is not meant to be won't.

Sleeping Beauty

 

My sweetie's first time falling asleep on the couch since she was a little bitty baby.  She had been on the couch, jumped off to get her blanket that was on the living room floor, jumped back on the couch with her blanket, wrapped herself up in her blanket and passed out watching cartoons.  :)  I love her so much!

I did the photos this weekend for my brother-in-law and soon to be sister-in-law.  We did them in 100 degree weather because we both had busy weekends and they turned out very well...at least I think so, for being my first time.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Learning More

Hi All,

So I actually took today off for a "learning day" without the baby.  This weekend I am doing the shoot for my brother-in-law and wanted to feel more comfortable with my camera, so I've been practicing.  I realize this has nothing to do with Kyla or ABS, lol, but this is my blog so I can put whatever I want to on here ;)  So as you can see from the photos I am learning more!  I'm pretty excited....it's fun to do something sort of artsy.  I used to draw a lot back in the day but now I don't draw ever, so I actually do enjoy this photography stuff.  So here are some photos:

My focus point is off a little on this daisy one, but I still like it.

By the way, I had said before when I first got my camera that this stuff is cake....well that was spoken by someone who had really no idea what they were doing.  LOL...once you actually start to learn how the camera works and what does what it gets a little more difficult.  ha...or a lot more...but I'm catching on!  Woo hoo!

Figured I'd write a quick post on what happened this weekend. I'm currently sick and can thank my baby girl for that. She has been fighting a cold off and on for the past couple weeks but I always let her take sips off of my drinks (because it's funner to drink out of real cups as opposed to sippy cups) and every time I let her do it when she's sick I get sick and then can't seem to kick it. Urgh! This afternoon I am taking Kyla to a doctor appointment for a mysterious rash that has spread all over her body and comes and goes and has been for the past two weeks or so. This kid has serious skin issues. I'm starting to think she has eczema and I've tried all kinds of cremes and nothing seems to help too much so I'm thinking she either needs to see a dermatologist or I need a prescription strength creme. We'll see...

Saturday morning Greg and Kyla and I attempted to hike Badger Mountain trail. It was great, Greg carried Kyla and everything was going fine, until we got about 1/4 of the way up then Kyla decided she didn't want to be carried anymore and didn't want to walk up on her own, so after a crying fit we decided to bag it and headed back down the hill. Even though we only went a little ways up, my butt and legs were a little sore the next day, so I know it's a good work out....and it was fun and pretty too. So I'd like to go, but then we always have Kyla, so it most likely won't happen. One thing about becoming a parent is most of the time, things you would like to do, don't happen and that's just something you have to accept and realize it won't always be that way. Sometimes I get a little selfish and think it would be really nice if I just had like one day or something where I could go do whatever and not feel rushed to get home ASAP to relieve the Husband. It'll happen someday, there is hope! :)

Kyla and I went to church yesterday morning while Greg went 4-wheeling with some friends. I volunteered for two Sundays in the church nursery for next Sunday and another Sunday. Should be fun but interesting, lol..some of those kids sit at the gate and cry like crazy for their parents. I'm also a little nervous about changing other kids poopy diapers, because I've only ever changed my Niece and my own kid's poopy diapers and those are kids I love, ha, so we'll see how that goes, but our church really needs volunteers and I figure they watch my kid for me every Sunday so that I can take an hour out of my week to listen to God's word, and they should have that opportunity as well. I hope I get the little babies, but we'll see....I miss having a little baby (sometimes...just a little bit...).

Yesterday afternoon we went boating and I was able to wakeboard for a little bit...I didn't do too much because I didn't want to get my hair too wet, so I only went for maybe 15 minutes or so. This weird summer is killing me...it can be warm and sunny one minute and cool and cloudy the next.  So weird!  Oh I also forgot that we had dinner with friends Saturday night.  We have a group that all has kids around the same age that gets together at someone's house 1 time/month.  It is fun, feels like we're running a day care or something with 5 little kids running around  :)  I'll have to take a few pictures of the group of kids sometime and upload them here.  Except for 1 kid, they're all under 2 years old, so it's fun.

Kids Activities

I'm currently at work attempting to use a bum internet after hackers screwed up our systems last week. It is useless....so I
figured I would blog this topic. Topic being I need feedback on how and what activities I should get kyla enrolled in. I've been thinking about swimming lessons but for those who have already been thru this....how hard is it to learn how to swim with one hand? Also when I start getting her involved in things do I need to like make sure whoever is running the class is ok with her joining? Or just not mention it at all? I've been thinking about dance classes within the next year or not too long after.....I just wonder how this all works and would like some suggestions if anyone has some...please get in touch with me. I wonder if I put her in dance if other snobby mothers are going to make an issue over it.....or I was also thinking about soccer. Although I hate soccer kyla is pretty good at kicking balls and it would probably be a good sport for her. Kylas daddy was in some Olympic soccer training group when he was younger but had to stop due to how expensive it was...I know he would be able to teach her. Anyway if anyone can give suggestions on this topic, please do :) Thanks.

I feel like I've been neglecting my blog lately, but the fact is, I really don't have much to talk about!  I've been enthralled with this Casey Anthony trial and have been spending a lot of my free time watching videos from the hearing and keeping up on recent happenings with her and her family by watching the news.  This trial has obviously infuriated a lot of people and it seems the most infuriated are Mothers.  I am one of them....  I'm not like going crazy over it like a lot of women are, but it is very upsetting to say the least.  Soooo...that's what I've been doing the past few days.  One thing I can say is that once Casey is out, like I dunno, I would hate to be her, I'm sure there are quite a few crazies out there who are going to be out to get her.  If I were her, I'd probably rather stay in jail or prison; it will definately be interesting to see what happens, but I urge everyone to not support any interviews/book deals, movies, etc. that she could profit from.  If you watch some of the video clips of Casey, and the way she behaves, I'm pretty sure she's got some kind of mental issue and it's scary that someone like her is going to be let free into the general population in a matter of days.  Let's hope and pray that she doesn't hurt anyone else.

On another topic, my Hubby told me a few days ago that his partner he works with went to Silverwood Theme Park for vacation over the 4th of July Holiday weekend and came back to tell him that while he was at Silverwood he saw two or three people who had ABS and arms like Kyla.  I thought this was bazar that he saw so many like her in the same place and at the same time!  Just this past week Kyla has been calling her little arm what sounds like "armie."  I'm not sure why she is calling it this, but I'm wondering if maybe at daycare or something they call her arm that or someone she is around is calling it that....OR if she is just realizing that it isn't the same as her other arm/hand.  She has never called it a hand before, and has only ever called her one hand "hand."  I'm wondering if maybe she is just finally at the age where she realizes it is different.  I don't think it'll be too much longer and she'll be able to communicate with us more about her difference.  We'll see....but I think that hearing lately and seeing more people who are in our community who are like her will help me to be able to be more positive about her difference when she does ask me.  It's definitely a fear of mine - I feel like when she asks me I'm going to just break down in tears or something and not even be able to talk to her about it, which is the very opposite of what I want and need to do.  Most of the people I do know who are like Kyla aren't from around here, but obviously the past two weeks has contradicted that.  Which is a positive thing!

One other thing....my Dad has been on my case lately about not putting Kyla's prosthetic on her.  Well...I'm not sure how else to tell him, other than repeat myself over and over that she doesn't want it and all she does is pull it off as soon as I put it on.  Very annoying...like I feel like by him being on my case about it all the time he's kind of like telling me I'm not being a good Mom or something.  Out of all of the people I know with arms like Kyla's, only one kid wears her prosthetic and even her Mom told me she doesn't want to wear it sometimes.  Well the kiddo just woke up from her nap, so I'm off! 

July 4th

We celebrated Independence Day yesterday by boating most of the day and then went down to the river in the evening to watch the fireworks show.  This was Kyla's first time seeing fireworks and she loved them, lots of jaw dropping and oos and awes.  She was not scared one bit and wanted more, which was kind of surprising to me since she is afraid of things like cars driving by.  I asked my Mother-in-Law to snap a photo of our family, please excuse my miserable looking husband!  He fried himself like a lobster earlier in the day while boating and as you can see Kyla did not want to sit still for a photo! 

On Saturday I saw a little girl at the grocery store who had an arm like Kyla...same arm and I didn't notice any other limb deficiencies.  I did not have Kyla with me, but it was nice (might sound weird but it was) to see a young girl like my daughter in our town!  Just made me smile seeing her.  She was arm in arm with two other little girls and happy as can be! 

Hope everyone had a good 4th and did something fun.

1st Real Time Boating

Today was Kyla's first "real time" boating.  Meaning we were on the boat for about 4 hours rather than just a quick dip in and out.  She did awesome.  She's got Bumgarner blood in her for sure!  :)  Look at how cute this little chicken is!  She is my heart, love this little girl.  In addition to the photo of her I also took a couple pictures of some bridges around town just for fun. 

I think we are hitting the water again tomorrow and this time Mama is going wakeboarding!!  I can't wait.

Daddy's Little Helper

This kid loves her Daddy's tools and likes to get dirty!!!  These aqua-socks have been a life saver this summer.  I can't tell you how many times Kyla has walked into puddles of water or stepped in the dog's water bowl with her sneakers on.  Aqua socks are the way to go!  :)

This Week

Finally getting around to my weekly update.  Had a lot of stuff on my mind lately; early this week was pretty difficult.  I was snooping around on Facebook and found photos of my Niece that her Step-Mom had taken of her that were of my Niece made up to look like evil or satanic or something.  Very disturbing.  I have only ever seen one Exorcist movie because someone I was dating wanted to go see it, but I was not into it.  Anyway, imaging the little girl from the Exorcist movie....that is what my Niece looked like in these photos.  So disturbing that I was boiling mad but crying all at the same time.  I feel so badly for this little girl to the point where I decided that I don't care what my family thinks, I decided that I wanted to fight to get custody.  I had my Husband talk to some lawyers he knows and apparently nothing can be done unless the parents are like cracked out and neglecting her, which they aren't.....  there is some neglect, like she doesn't get regular showers at her Dads and doesn't get fed good, but other than that I don't have much to prove that they are all 3 unfit parents.  Very hard for me.  I'm not sure really what I can do.  I wish I could do more but I feel helpless.  Anyhow...  I'm also really excited because my future Sister-in-Law asked me to do some "engagement" photos for her and my Brother-in-Law.  I am excited to have my first set of "models" for photos.  My Husband isn't into the posed photos and my Daughter is always on the run and she won't pose for me for nothing, so I'm pretty excited to have some willing participants.  This couple has already had their engagement photos professionally done, but with professional you don't get the rights and without those prints are extremely expensive and you don't get much freedom either, like the ability to post on Facebook, do neats prints for wedding centerpieces, etc.  The photos I do for them will be posted in the local newspaper on their engagement announcement and she also wants to use some on the tables at the wedding reception.  I hope I can do good...but we will see.  (Kyla will also be one of the flower girls in their wedding, so that will be fun too!)  I've been scouting out neat places to do photos for them and studying my manual for my camera when I can.  It is so hard to find time to do this!!!  Holy cow.  When people used to tell me "get school done now, before you have kids" I always kind of laughed and knew it would be hard but I didn't quite get it until now.  LOL.  My child is into so many things she shouldn't be every two seconds.  I have no time to concentrate on studying anything.  BUT....I did learn how to lighten up photos that are for instance taken in the shade on my camera today which is really cool!  So with this, it doesn't matter if I need to take a photo that is in the shade or dim lighting, I can lighten up the settings on my camera and then take the photo and it won't look dark at all.  Neat, neat!  There is so much that my camera can do that I don't even know how to do yet, so it'll be good for me to learn more.  I wanna see if maybe I have any kind of talent at this photography stuff because just thinking about Kyla starting preschool and that kind of thing makes me nervous!  I don't have anybody to pick her up at 11:15 three days a week or whatever and take her to daycare while I am at work.  I just don't.... so I feel like I need to figure out something I can do now, rather than wait until I have to quit work or something because I have to figure out how to get my kid to school and back and don't have anybody who can do it.  Schools make it really difficult now-a-days to have two full-time working parents.  Even with me working 24 hrs/week, I work full days so wouldn't be able to pick her up at all 3 days out of the week, which won't work.  We'll figure this out and I know I shouldn't be worried about it now, but I definitely think some planning now will help out when the times comes for her to start school.

On a side note, Kyla has been so lovey lately, I LOVE it!  I call her my little monkey because she gives me these full body hugs and wraps her legs and arms around my body, then lays her head down on my shoulder and sometimes pats me on the back.  LOL.  I love the little hand pats, so cute!  That's about it.  Greg is working on getting the fence up a lot now and I can't wait.  I've been sun tanning a lot now that it's warm out and it's not fun to not have privacy, it will also be nice for Kyla to have a safe area to play where I don't have to watch every little thing she does all the time.  Anyway that's about it.  Everyone have a great night.

Fathers Day 2011 Part 2

So at work this morning I was listening to my Sanctus Real Pandora Radio station and this song, "Lead Me" came across the playlist.  It is the song that was sung at church this past weekend immediately following the children's video on Father's.  I just love this song, love the lyrics and what it's saying.  I saw this group in person a few years ago and all of their songs have very good meaning behind them.

Lead Me
Songwriters: Matthew Hammitt;Jason Ingram;Christopher James Rohman

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames, I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear her saying

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear them saying

Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh Father, show me the way
To lead them


Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Fathers Day 2011

Today was Greg's second Fathers Day.  Went really good.  Busy, but good.  We went to church this morning and it was amazing...yet again.  They did an awesome short video on children and how they look to their Father's as their role model and watch every move they make, how they treat others, and the how they handle themselves from day-to-day.  This is so true, kids want to be like their Dads.  Even as young as Kyla is I can see her watching Greg a lot and she doesn't do this with me...Kinda cool, but this video just reinforces how careful you have to be as a Dad because you want your actions to be positive and a good experience for your children.  Anyhow.  Kyla got Greg a remote control helicopter for Fathers Day, which he had fun flying around the house today.  Kyla was afraid of the helicopter so hid behind her Dad when he was flying, hence the extremely concerned look on her face.  Here are a few photos:

Saturday

This is what the Vance fam does when we are waiting for our bed comforter to wash and dry at the dry cleaners, we take a little stroll through Zentil Canyon.  We found this cool tree swing and we all took turns swinging on it.  I love doing things that take me back to feelings from my childhood.  Doesn't happen very often.  Kyla did not actually swing, just sat on it and thought it was cool.  :)

Kyla Napping

Just snuck into Kyla's room while she was napping (I know, pretty risky) and got a couple shots of her puppy dog lying on her head while she was sleeping.  If I didn't see it on the video monitor I wouldn't have known!  I'll be the Mom that is still using my video monitor through the night and naps when my kid is 5 years old.  LOL.  Who knows maybe I'll even use it once she is a teenager and trying to sneak out of the house too. 

God's Perfect Work of Art

Someone posted this on the Amniotic Band Syndrome group on Facebook and I liked it so thought I would post here for Kyla to read at some point.  Kind of sweet.  :)

God looked down, another child complete a smile so perfect a temper so sweet but baby looked and some parts were gone. Did god mess up and make me wrong? He explained himself as he just smiled. " if i'd taken time to make that part, you wouldn't be such a work of art. I would not have had time to make that smile, to list your talents would last a mile. Your sense of humor that belly laugh where are these parts you have to ask? You are so lucky these gifts of gold those missing parts are mine to hold. Forever they'll be close to my heart, so as you live, we are never apart. Each time you move you'll be on my mind, you special child you are quite a find! So do not miss that part you see, it will always be safe and sound with me.

Go Watch This Video

My Mother-in-Law told me about this one.  It is a good tear jerker.  :)  Love these little kids and their amazing attitudes.  Sorry, no time to embed right now, will try later.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42590729/ns/today-good_news/t/amputee-champion-gives-others-legs-stand/from/toolbar

Happenings

Not too much has been going on, but I thought I would write a little something to current.

I just finished doing a BowFlex workout in our basement.  After my day today, I needed something to work out my stressors.  :)  Kyla had her second and third "time outs" yesterday and today.  She has done time out at daycare before, but really has never had to do it at home.  So it was hard, but I think the terrible twos might be hitting early.  She is sort of on the verge I think of getting kicked out of daycare.  I sure hope not, but our daycare provider has been talking to us recently about how difficult she is when it comes to feeding and this is something that I've very much aware of.  Our daycare gal has been running her business for several years now and has two children of her own and she has stated several times that she has never had a kid like her when it comes to eating; she has even suggested that she thinks she might have something wrong with her throat; possibly a problem with swallowing.  I don't believe she has anything wrong with swallowing, just that she doesn't like to eat.  This has been a little bit of a stressor for me, because if she gets kicked out of daycare, I don't know of any other licensed daycares that are willing to charge less for PT daycare, like we currently have with our daycare provider.  I also don't have family that would be willing to watch her, so if it were to happen, I would probably have to quit my job, which is not something I want to do at this point.  Every licensed daycare that I have ever talked to charges for FT care whether you need it or not, and we cannot afford to pay a FT rate with me only working PT....  so some things need to change.  Kyla needs to start eating and not just for her favorite cartoon show, Bubble Guppies.  Something I'm going to have to work harder on and she is as well.  And we already have, hence why yesterday and today were so difficult.

Greg and I went to a Naughty by Nature concert here in town on Wednesday night.  It was horrible.  At least the venue was horrible....I'm too old for those places now but wanted to go because Naughty by Nature has always been one of my favorite old school hip hop groups.  Once they finally showed up at 11:45 and started to perform, it was pretty decent, but we certainly didn't expect that it would take them that long to start when the venue advertised a start time of 7:30 PM.  Very disappointing.  The venue was The Rock Reactor in downtown Kennewick....  it sucked, was ghetto fabulous, and I will never go there again.  Another thing is that this outing made me realize that with a Husband who is in law enforcement and has been for several years now, he knows too many people and has had troubles with too many people and we cannot go to some of these places and enjoy ourselves at the same time.  There was a huge dude there who apparently has 3 homicides on his record but they have never actually been able to charge him with murder and he has had problems with my Husband while he was in jail years ago, and this guy told him that he was going to come after him once he got out, which never happened.  He just got out of prison after being in there for 4 years and so it was really uncomfortable, for me especially I think.  It is more of a big deal to me now that we are parents, I don't want something to happen and Kyla to be parent-less or something or without one parent....that would not be a good thing, so this experience kind of opened up my eyes to the fact that we just can't do these kinds of things anymore, unless we are with a large group of friends, and we weren't.

Things have still been weird with my family and they are getting even weirder.  I think now that my Sister's boyfriend has been in prison for several months now, she is getting closer to my relatives, and thus they are getting further away from me.  I have not spoken to my Sister or Mom since February, however I did write my Sister a letter this past week and explained once again why it is that I feel like I can no longer communicate with her or maintain a relationship with her.  I offered words of advice (once again) and told her that if and when she decides to take a different path for herself and for her Daughter that I would be here to support her.  Haven't heard anything back and don't expect to.  A month or so ago we went to Oregon to purchase cedar fencing for our yard, and my Sister and Niece passed us on the highway heading to the prison in Oregon where my Sister's boyfriend is current at.  Now I don't know about you, but wouldn't anyone who is thinking right see a problem with a six year old child being drive 5-6 hours out of town to visit their Mom's boyfriend in prison?  I sure do.  This isn't about my Sister really, this is about my Niece, an innocent child who has no say over the environment that she is exposed to.  I have had a friend even suggest to me that I need to do something about it, meaning like take her to court to get custody or something, but I really don't want to do this.  I don't get it at all and I don't see why no one in my family is not willing to do something about it.  Everyone in my family is only enabling my Sister's behaviors and it's disguisting.  You'd think they would care more about this little girl, but it's obvious they don't.  I get it because I've been there, I've been that child who had no control over the environment that they are exposed to and I certainly am not OK with my Sister doing the same thing to her own child...especially when she knows first hand what it is like.

I will stop venting, but this past week has been difficult.  With a combo of different stuff going on and with summer hitting, Kyla is in t-shirts more and thus the stares out in public are increasing.  It is very hard, I try to just look forward and not look at the faces, but it isn't always possible, but then I also have noticed Kyla notices other people more too and so I find myself sort of trying to block her from the stares in a way, at least a little bit.  Like during checkouts at the grocery store, that is when it's a little difficult because you aren't moving, you're at a stand still and people look at children, because they're cute, because it's a baby and everyone wants to get a look at their cuteness, but lately now that it's summer time, it's been weird stares from those passing by or big smiles until they realize she is missing part of her arm and then those smiles drop...not easy for a parent to see, because we love our babies unconditionally.

Not that I'm complaining or anything, just saying that this past week hasn't been the greatest, a little difficult, somewhat emotional from time to time.  It is time for bed, church in the morning and a get-together to attend.  Everyone have an awesome Memorial Day weekend.

Kyla Was a Bad Girl Today

Kind of....., so tonight I took this photo of her playing in the tub.  I bought these foam bath toys of ABCs and numbers for her earlier today at the store and created this:

Playing in the Sun

Today was beautiful....mid 80's, first real warm day around here.  Kyla and I went to a doctor appointment for her this morning then did a little bit of shopping and came home to relax and play in the sun.  Here are a few photos I took of her and I.  I filled up Kyla's pool last night so that the water would warm up in time for today but she didn't get in at all.  I put her feet in but she just cried.  Not a big deal, she'll warm up to it eventually.  Note:  The photo of myself was not taken with my Nikon (obviously... :))