Family Pictures

I was busy this summer taking family pictures for other families. Near the end of September it suddenly dawned on me that it's been two years since we've done family pictures! And although our family hasn't changed, we sure have grown! The only problem was once I realized I wanted pictures I wanted them done ASAP...because I needed the leaves a certain colour etc to go with my theme. AND since I was so busy taking pictures for other people I wasn't sure if I could get a real photographer to take mine on the exact date I wanted in the exact window of time I wanted too. So, I decided to borrow my friend Angie for 10 minutes to take a few family shots, then I sent her on her way and I finished the rest. Hailey took a few shots of Ben and me, my tripod and remote did a few more. It was kind of a fun experience. But really, I want to just show up at a session, pay the money and let someone else do all the work. I think next year I'll be more organzied and actually book something!

So here they are...our 'Lumberjack/Woods/Meets house of Blonde girly-girls' theme. The funny thing is Ben had a really good scruffy beard going that I was so excited to have in our pictures. When he came home that day I was busy getting the girls ready so he went upstairs, showered and got dressed without talking to me. I saw him for the first time as we were loading into the van and he had SHAVED!! But he was so proud of himself for thinking to shave for family pictures that I couldn't say anything...plus what could I do? Ask him to grow back his facial hair? So I just embraced it. And although he doesn't quite look like the scruffy lumberjack I had imagined I sure did like that smooth face for all our kissing pictures!! And really...I get my scruffy mountain man every day, it's kind of fun to see the clean shaven guy I first met!! I kind of love him...maybe a lot! And those girls...could they be anymore lovely???

The potty

So this potty training thing...I'm not so sure about it. I was really so spoiled the first two times I went about it. Hailey was done in a day, and Paige - well, she told me she was ready so I let it be. And she was! That was is. With Cait, I thought for sure she was ready, she takes her diaper off every time after she pees and asks for a new one. She actually tries to sneak panties on any chance she can. AND she has even willingly decided to go potty on the toilet on her own - multiple times!

So basically, I know she wants to wear panties and she's capable of getting the concept. But that's it. We spent one day working hard on this potty thing without a single success. Then I had a crazy week after that, so I put it on hold. Then one busy Saturday she refused to wear diapers, so we gave it another go. And total failure!! Ok, not total...she did go once! But then she decided to empty the potty herself and ended up tripping and dumping it all over the carpet! The worst was at the end of the day, she hadn't peed for over an hour, so I sat her on the potty. She sat for ten minutes. I sang songs, danced, talked a LOT about pee, and nothing. She just didn't have to go. So I sent her upstairs to have a bath and on the way up the stairs?? Yep...she peed! Honestly!!

Part of me thinks it was just way too busy of a day to really focus on her. I really feel like I need a day when they other two are at school and I have nothing else on my plate to just get this done. Cait, me, the sippy cup and the potty! I think it will work. But then another part of me wonders...she's had three procedures/surgeries on her bladder and Ureter. There's obviously something not working there. Could she have some nerve damage of some sort that's causing problems? Is there more to it than just being a busy toddler in a busy house without anyone's undivided attention? Very very likely? Should I worry about it yet? Maybe not. I'll make sure I give it another solid try or two in the next month. Then when we're back in to see her Urologist and Nephrologist in January we'll discuss this...among a million other things.

A little October update from my iPhone

I've been so busy lately. Like crazy crazy busy. I've taken on some more responsibilities with the business, I started up Piano again, picked up two more students (total of 10) and I've been steady with photoshoots all September and October. I haven't done laundry in weeks, which means one of my children is now stuck wearing her sisters panties because we ran out of hers. We're also been contemplating this potty training thing. Some days I try, some days Cait tries, and some days neither of us bothers. Dinner is hit and miss around here, more often it's a miss. And I haven't vacuumed in at least a week. One of the girls (not Cait) is getting night time potty trained (there's actually a physical reason for the bedwetting - according to Cait's nephrologist). So she's been sleeping with a bed wetting alarm, which goes off at the slightest indication of moisture. It's actually working and her dry night far outnumber and hint of a wet night. But it's still exhausting. I can hoenstly say I'm looking forward to things slowing down just a bit. Life feels so out of control.

Which is why I'm posting iPhone pictures. My real camera is always full of clients pictures that I haven't pulled it out for our own. And even then, my iPhone is hardly taking any pictures...I think I'm kind of burning out. So here's a little tiny update:

Waiting for the bus

Playing games with Dad

Potty Training

Drawing pictures during General Conference

Scouting out new Photography locations

Playing in the beautiful fall leaves

Cait's Ambulance ride

So a couple weeks ago Cait checked off another first by taking an ambulance ride to the hospital! Now I thought I'd share this story in it's entirety so people understand exactly what happened. Ben was at work and I was putting the girls to bed. It had been a long exhausting day so I was taking my time getting upstairs. The big girls were in the bathroom brushing her teeth and Cait decided to join in. Apparently she climbed onto the toilet (or counter) and then slipped and fell and hit her head. I heard the fall and ran quickly to grab her. I was there within 2 seconds and had her in my arms. While in my arms her eyes rolled back and she had a seizure. It lasted maybe 5-10 seconds tops. Then she passed out. Again, this lasted maybe 5-10 seconds tops. So basically she hit her head, had a seizure and passed out all within 30 seconds. My first instinct was that this was normal. But I thought I'd double check, so I called my mom and she recommended I call the health link. So I did. I waited on hold for 10 minutes. In that time Cait had come to, but was still sleepy and lethargic on my lap. I've called health link a million times and never once have they made me promise to get off the phone ASAP and call 911! But this time they did.

Apparently this wasn't as normal as I'd thought. So I called 911 and they reassured me that I absolutely was right to call them and then Cait most definitely needed to ride an ambulance to the hospital. I guess with this kind of situation there's always the chance she'll have another seizure on the hospital and she could also lose consciousness again. If that happens while I'm driving, there really is no way to make sure she's ok...not choking etc. So we waited for the ambulance to come. By the time it showed up Cait was fully alert an acting 100% normal...so I was second guessing the ambulance. But they reassured me over and over again that you don't want to take any risks when it comes to head injuries. So off we went - I left the girls with a friend. Cait got a brand new little sutffy (medic moose) and she loved every second of the ride. She's such a pro with doctors and had no problems with them checking her vitals every few minutes. She just sat there as chill as ever.

When we arrived we were tossed into the busiest ER waiting room I've ever seen (even the paramedics said they've never seen it like this before). My parents met us there and then Ben showed up. And then we wait 6 hours!! Honestly...six...long...hours. The whole time we were there we had a nurse come out and regularly talk to us and check her vitals. So we weren't being ignored by any means...but it still felt like forever.

Finally at 4 in the morning we saw the doctor. She reassured me that they weren't ignoring us, but that because we'd arrived by ambulance and had already been assessed they knew she wasn't in any immediate danger - especially since all her vitals were normal. They also knew that before they'd do any testing they would keep us there for at least 5 hours of observation. This is probably standard procedure, but her medical history also played a roll in this decision. She has been exposed to more radiation that most healthy children in her life. When possible we'll avoid exposing her to any more...so if we don't NEED to do a scan we won't. Basically whether we saw a doctor first or not, we would have been there the same amount of time. Plus we were regularly being monitored by nurses the entire stay. We just weren't in a room. And with it being so busy that night they needed the rooms for other patients. I'm totally fine with that explanation.

Ultimately in the end it turns out she had what was called an impact seizure. Totally benign. The passing out was either a result of the seizure or because she had a breath holding spell (where you hold your breath until you pass out), both of which are normal and not worrisome. After 6 hours of no repeat seizures or loss of consciousness, normal vitals, movement, alertness etc it was safe to say that it was an isolated incident and that there was no brain damage. We didn't need to do any testing or scans on her to confirm this. It was obvious. And I'm grateful for that.

So now we just keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't fall off so many things. I'm actually quite happy with the care we received even though it was frustrating at the time. Looking back on it I feel like the best decisions were made for her overall health. And I'm just happy that we can walk away from that incident without anything more to worry about. We see enough specialists as it is!