Abby turned 1!  We made it.  It has been such a fun and eventful year full of lots of laughs, adventures, miracles and learning experiences.  We are so grateful for the joy she brings to our family.  To celebrate we had a small "My Little Pony" party (that is her favorite and only show she watches:)  Abby enjoyed her cake, but LOVED her ice cream.  (Like father, like daughter.)  

 

 In honor of Abby's Birthday, here's a few of our favorite things about her..

She has CRAZY hair!  I try to put it in pony tails, but by the end of the day she pulls it out and it sticks straight out on each side. She also stills loves her food...

She has turned into a climber and loves sitting in boxes, especially her toy box...

She thinks her Cousin Chase is the coolest and wants to to EVERYTHING he does..

She ADORES her dad.  It's something new she just started, but she gets so excited when Nate comes home from trips.

Our good friends the Ridings came to town and Abby had a blast playing with them, she really doesn't know what to do with other kids except pull their hair, but she gets so excited to see them. (But who doesn't get excited when the Ridings come to town?!:)

She thinks she's in Heaven when her older cousins give her any attention, she can't wait to spend more time with them this summer.

She always wants to help in the kitchen or fold clothes..

She has the BEST smile ever and loves spending time with her all her Grandparents.

She's traveled a ton this summer and has been a trooper each trip.  One of the trips she had to say goodbye to Aunt Emily as she ventured off to Baton Rouge for her mission.  I can tell she misses her already, but I am grateful for the great example she is to Abby and the influence she will have on her life.  

Last thing, she is very determined.  When she makes up her mind to do something, it happens.  For example, she randomly started walking on her 1 yr Birthday.  She never really tried on her own until that day and just picked herself up and walked across the livingroom.  It was so fun to see.  

We're excited for the future birthdays and adventures! (just hoping none of those adventures involve anymore hospital visits:) 

 

Independence Day!

I guess it's time to catch up again... :)  I told Kristen last Sunday that we really ought to be able to update the blog once a week, but it's amazing how things come up and make it difficult to get accomplished.  Okay... I admit I didn't even think about it again until today, so here we are!

We're going to break up the last couple of weeks to get caught up, starting with the Fourth of July.

I was on call from the 3rd through the 6th and TOTALLY lucked out and was able to be home until the 6th.  Kristen took Abby swimming at Aunt Linda's in the afternoon and then we all went to Jon and Holly's for dinner and then swimming, followed by ice cream and fireworks.  It was a bit more tame than years past for me, but when the kiddos have to be asleep before it's even dark, the light displays are just not as intense...

We had tons of fun - it was nice to just be able to be together and celebrate our independence!

Catching up...

Well... time flies.  Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to the last little while.

Abby has had fun playing with blocks...

... and of course, her pacifier. (may be teething, but we're novices, so who knows?!)

Kristen taught her how to sew...

... and she LOVED it!

She got a little frustrated by the toys being inside the basket...

Until Kristen sent me this picture of her figuring out how to get them out!

We visited the Olympic Training Park in Park City...

Future Olympian?... :)

We visited Jake and Emilie Cahoon and took some great portraits of a very mellow Abby...

This is how Abby looked for the famous General Conference Sunday morning waffles...

Both of the girls were excited about whipped cream!

And I've spent lots of time flying lately - and taking pictures when I'm home, too, of course!

Here are a few from San Diego.  I had an adventure there trying to get to the beach.  I almost went to Mexico - seriously, I could have walked across the border in about two minutes from where I got off the trolley... Fun times!

We loved General Conference and are looking forward to spending some time with my parents while they're here for a week.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate with us...

Adventures at UC Davis

 Lots to report on in the last while..  The main event of the last few months was our crazy trip to the ICU in Sacramento.  It all started Christmas night when Abby came down with Croup.  Abby and I were in Cali visiting my family and Nate was flying around the US on one of his trips.  Abby was in and out of the Pediatricians office for a few days struggling to breathe through her croup when Sat Dec 29th almost instantly we could tell she was in a lot of distress.  We rushed her to the ER in Chico and she was given breathing treatments then ultimately put on a breathing machine and life flighted to the UC Davis Medical hospital in Sacramento. 

 

For awhile there she seemed to always fall under the "worst case scenario."  The doctor's diagnosed her with the perainfluenza virus and a staph infection in her throat on top of that.  They gave us a 3-5 day estimate on breathing tubes.  As we waited out those few days, Abby began having a reaction to all the drugs they had to use to sedate her.  Her heart rate normally should fall around 170 and each day her heart rate was dropping until on the 5th day it was down to the 50's.  The doctors came to remove the tube and decided there was no signs of reduction in swelling and they wanted to wait it out 5 more days.  We were worried about the heart rate and the doctor was also worried, but it still seemed like the best option to wait.

It was a long rollercoaster of a wait, but during that time we were touched by all those who reached out to us in prayers, fasting and other ways.  The night Abby went into the ER Nate jumped in his car and drove through crazy storms to make it in early the next morning.  My mom was there by Abby's side throughout and even Nate's mom Thayne flew in from Seattle to help. 

 We would take turns watching Abby while others went back to the McDonald house where we were staying to catch up on sleep and eating.  One of the most memorable moments was when my mom and I were on watch and it was New Years Eve.  Just a few minutes before midnight, the vital machine started ringing and Abby's vitals plummeted most likely due to the tube getting clogged.  Luckily we had some of the best doctors and nurses and they were able to fix things and get her vitals back up.  I guess Abby just wanted to make sure we never forgot 2012.  Through it all we were able to see many miracles and Heavenly Father's hand directing the whole process.  It really helped me realize how helpless we are in this life and yet merciful and giving our Heavenly Father can be. On Monday Jan 7th they removed the tube still without any signs that Abby's swelling had gone down.  Another tender mercy and Abby was able to breathe well enough that they didn't have to put the tube back in or rush her to the Operating room.  Just minutes after removing the tube we were able to hold her again.  One of the best moments of my life, hands down.

 Abby had to keep a breathing mask on for awhile after and we had to stay in the PICU for a few more days so that they could ween her off all the drugs she was on and they could monitor her progress.

 While she was coming off the drugs she would make the funniest faces and cry/laugh at the same time.  I'm sure she didn't know what was up or down, but it was pretty funny to watch at times. 

  She was given lots of love by her Grandma's and Nurses (and parents of course:) Which I know also helped in her recovery. 

  We were so impressed and grateful for the nurses and Doctors that worked on Abby, we were in good hands. 

 When it was all said and done, I think Abby was just as ready as all of us to head home and be free from all the tubes. 

 Now we can officially say we have a million dollar baby (or at least close:) and I will be eternally grateful for each individual prayer that was offered in Abby's behalf during that time.  I know it was those prayers and Heavenly Father's help that we have her here with us now!  Since that time, we've been working on getting back to normal life..well as normal as can be when you become germ phobic and decide to isolate your daughter until flu season is over;)  We've still had our fun though.

   Abby is back to her old smiling self and working on catching up to regular 6 month baby stuff.

She started eating solids and loves rice cereal!  Or at least playing and blowing bubbles in the cereal...

She's mastered sitting up on her own without falling over..

And since the flu/cold season is still in full bloom I make anyone (even my husband) wear protective gear when around Abby until we see some specialists and find out how her throat is and why the infection hit her so bad.

 

 

 

We're so grateful for all she adds to our family and cherish each moment with her!