Bad to the Bone

I found this picture that my mom took on my phone. Are they sassy or what?!

Ali is 1!

Ali is now a big 1 year old! We celebrated her birthday with a small gathering of close family and friends. I was worried she might feel overwhelmed but was I ever wrong! This girl lived it up and enjoyed every moment of her special day! We went with a "Winnie the Pooh" theme party, mostly because it just reminds us of her. So happy and sweet. Plus she loves the stuffed Pooh I bought her after stumbling into the Disney store. I just can't believe our baby girl is toddling her way through the baby years. 365 days with this girl, yet I feel like we've loved her forever.

 

Here's her "stats" from the doctor: 18.9 lbs (11%), 28 in (17%) and walking EVERYWHERE. She is curious, determined and starting to develop a serious sass. She's cuddly, loving and fiesty all at the same time. My favorite thing is watching that fiery sparkle in her eyes when she's up to something. Her little eyebrows go up just slightly and it always clues me in that she's got a plan. I know all parents feel this way about their children, but this girl is going to take the world by storm! I feel so incredibly lucky to be her mom. Every day with Ali is a sunny one. Happy birthday Aliyah! We love you more than anything!

 

 

 Party girl!

 My "homemade" cupcakes (oy!)

 Goodie pots for the little ones

 That smile!

 Ali and her Papa

 We had many helpers opening and sorting gifts. What a spoiled girl!

 Ali's mini-me doll

 Our excellent paper-folder Ava! Saving the world one tissue at a time.

 Patiently waiting for cake

 My sweet nephew Kellen

 Going straight for the flame!

 First cake experience! Yum!

 Recovering the next day...

Ali and Pooh...friends forever. ;)

Owl Sisters

Most peple know that Peyla is pretty into owls. The infatuation started last summer, when four owls made a home in our mesquite tree. Then she wanted to be an owl for Halloween. Winter rolled around and with it came snow hats. She found...you guessed it, an owl hat. Now her latest stunt is to put the smaller owl costume hat on sissy Ali and throw on the winter hat for herself. I guess the old saying is true, birds of a feather DO flock together! 

Tinkering with Lightroom

After much procrastination, I finally purchased the Lightroom 4.1 editing program to enhance my pictures of the girls. In my next life, I'd love to be a professional photographer! But for now, I will be happy with just tinkering with my camera. By the time the girls hit high school, I should be a pro!

 

 Sleepy girl getting warmed by the sun.

 A photo that captures their relationship perfectly.

 Ali loves tags...on anything!

 Lips McGhee

 Ali sitting pretty!

 The following are vintage Peyla- 6 mos. Does she look like Ali?

 

A Little Ali Lovin

Ali is going to be turning one in just a few short weeks. I can't believe it! The old cliche of "where does the time go?" keeps running through my head every time I look at her. She gives so much love, it's so easy to think you are her favorite! She lights up when Peyla comes near. She crawls full-speed at me when I get down to her level. And daddy? Oh boy! Daddy is the best toy there is!

 

 

Rough Few Weeks

We've had a rough few weeks here at casa Dahn, my mind is still spinning about it. As you can see, our little Peyla lost her two front teeth over the weekend. And as some sweet lady in the supermarket asked- "Awww, she lost her teeth so young! Were they loose?" Um, no. Two year olds aren't supposed to lose their little teeth. She had several years left with those chompers. But I'm getting ahead of myself...let's start at Costco. This is mostly being documented for posterity reasons as most of you know what Peyla's experienced lately. But some family out-of-state are unaware.

 

Brendon took a week off recently, we had no major travel plans. We just wanted to be together and pack our days full of fun memories with the girls. The Children's Museum. The World Wildlife Zoo. Maybe a trip to the snow. Chuck-e-Cheese? Yes, please.

 

Well, it didn't happen. Peyla had a strange virus that started the week off. She ran a low temp, vomited only once, had no appetite and generally just wanted to lay on the couch. Very strange by Peyla's standards. We chalked it up to the flu apocalypse that is sweeping the country. By Thursday, she had bounced back. Our happy, smiley pixie was back! We spent an awesome day at the zoo, a picnic lunch, topped off by her first trip to the self-serve frozen yogurt shop (life-changing, by the way)! We were so relieved to have our girl back! Then the trip to Costco on Friday. Peyla wanted a sample of some homemade granola that this sweet little grandma was spooning out. "Be careful mom, there are nuts in it" she tells me. "That's OK!" I say breezily, helping myself. Hey, the kid eats PBJ daily- I thought we were in the clear. Wrong. Very very WRONG. Within two minutes, Peyla was crying that her mouth hurt. I took her outside to get her drink from the car. She now had welts on her face. Brendon came out moments later with our Costco loot, and she was crying that her back hurt. We speed off, saying to one another "is she having an allergic reaction??" How naive we were...it just didn't sink in.

 

We stop at the Walgreen so I can talk to the pharmacist. Her eyes were now hurting and she was screaming and clawing at her face. I stumble into the store and see the pharmacist. I described Peyla's symptoms and she told me to go straight to the ER. No! Better yet, take her to the fire department for them to evaluate and use an epipen if need be. That will be quicker she told me. I sob like a baby and off we go to the fire station. The fire captain checked her and determined she isn't in anaphylatic shock but needed Benadryl and the pediatrician. So off we go again. Long story short- we spent almost two hours in the doctor's office for blood pressure/oxygen evaluation. Given two epipens for future need (God forbid) and told to give her 24 hours of Benadryl to suppress the reaction. By the time we get home from the doctor, her face, ears and neck were beet-red. She was running a fever again. We ran her a bath and went to put her in to relax a little. Her whole body looked like a 3rd degree sunburn. I was afraid to touch her, it looked so painful. I pressed on her little legs and asked if it hurt- it didn't. She took her bath (unwillingly) and we cuddled off-on for the rest of the night. By noon the following day, she was beginning to look like my girl again. Brendon was relieved. I was...traumatized. I didn't want to let her out of my arms.

 

A week passed. One week of standard, everyday joy of being with Peyla and Ali. Just running errands, visiting our Team Frigard friends, playing outside. All of the things that I take for granted, even though I try so hard to mindfully appreciate our life.

 

Then comes the birthday party in the park for Peyla's little buddy. It was held in her favorite park and all of her pint-sized friends were attending. We had to go! Five minutes into the party, Peyla takes a tumble inside a large blue (of course, her favorite color!) slide. Brendon hears a "thump!" and she comes out with a bloodied mouth and her little tooth trailing behind. Her second front tooth was partially knocked out and hanging in a strange position. She was completely traumatized (as were we!) so we drove her to the nearest ER at the direction of our pediatrician. Peyla became very tired and groggy in the car, just adding to our concerns! We arrived at the ER and she was met by the most gentle and caring people. Everyone from the receptionist to the attending physician and resident, even the billing coordinator treated her with kindness and compassion. Her vitals were taken, they checked for fluid in her ears (that would suggest a brain injury) and then pulled her remaining little tooth. She was a champ! We were SO blessed that everything else was completely normal. We followed up the next day with a pediatric dentist who confirmed that her permanent teeth were not damaged in the fall. One of her other teeth is slightly loose so she might lost that too, only time will tell. Fingers crossed that this was it! That our precious girl is on the mend.

 

 

Frick and Frack

There is nothing in this world that brings more joy to me than witnessing the bond between these girls. It melts my heart in ways that I cannot even describe. Besides, we have to remember these sweet moments when the sibling rivalry kicks in!