My Big 2 Year Old!

 My little Lyss is 2!!

I seriously cannot believe how fast time has gone!

  Since the day you were born, you have been a light and a joy in our family.  We love you so much and words cannot express the gratitude I have to my Heavenly Father for sending you to us. 

At 2 years old...

*You love to dance! If you hear music you are moving around and shaking every part that is possible to shake!  And even though you can't move too well on your feet right now, you put all the energy you have in to the moves you can make and I love it!

*You are a natural born singer. When you sing, you tip your head back and half close your eyes like you are in the most intense moment of a song, and it makes me laugh every time!

*You love your mom. I am who you want most of the time and I wouldn't trade one of your cuddles for anything. You love to just be with me and I hope that never changes.

*You love anything that has to do with horses. Especially when dad or I get on our hands and knees and crawl around with you on our back. You yell "yeehaw" and give us orders of where to go and what to do.

*You are talking up a storm! You love to repeat words and phrases you hear, especially things that your big sister says.  I have explained to her that you will be learning a lot from her, so she needs to be a really good example to you.

*You want to do everything by yourself. You are pretty good at putting your pants on and some of your shoes. I hear "My do it!!" a lot:)

*You finally love nursery. The first couple months you would cry when we would leave you in there but after your daddy explained that you were going to play and that we would always come back for you, you have done amazing.

*You are an excellent sleeper. You stay in your bed all night and sleep through the night.

*Your favorite foods are bananas, scrambled eggs, cereal and milk. And you love suckers, but I don't give them to you very often because too much sugar makes you extra sore.

*You love your Pa and your Grampy so much! You love your grandma's too, but there is something special to you about those two men. Pa came to visit us in Pullman and you had to be with him the entire time. I think he pretty much held you all weekend!

*You have a stubborn side...if you don't like what someone is saying to you or you are getting disciplined, you will move your eyes to the side and refuse to look at us. You are really good at keeping a straight face and it takes a lot for us to get you to crack!

*You are such a brave little girl. You always have such a good attitude about seeing your doctors and taking your medicine. There isn't anything fun about having arthritis, but you always seem to find a smile or thank your nurses, even after a shot. It amazes me how wise you seem to be, like you know that me and daddy are doing all of this to help you, even though it hurts. I love that a hug makes it all better and I can feel how much you love us. There's a lot of courage in your little body!

*You are such a tease! You love to tease your big sister to the point of her getting frustrated and running to me to stop you! You love to laugh and make us laugh.

*You love your big sister so much! We take her to preschool twice a week and you are always so sad to see her go. As soon as you wake up from your nap, you immediately ask for "cakelyn" or wander around the apartment saying "cakelyn, where are you?".

*You are quick to say sorry or kiss an owie better. You don't like when people are sad, especially if you know you caused it. You like to be comforted and bring others comfort.

*You love when we read to you. You would sit and let us read books for hours if we could.

We love you Lyss. We always will. 

Love,

Mom and Dad

Halloween 2013...

Finally we had a successful Halloween! The past 3 years we have lived in Pullman, Little Miss has been sick for Halloween.  Like miserable sick. So we were so excited to get to celebrate Halloween the way it is supposed to be celebrated...ridiculous amounts of candy and all!

Harvest Time...

For the first time since we have been at school here, we went to the annual harvest festival and the pumpkin patch!  We barely missed the hayride, but the girls had a great time picking out their pumpkins and playing.

 

Welcome Fall...we love you.

First Injections...

Lyss and I made the trip to Seattle at the end of September for her to get joint injections in 4 (ended up being 5) joints.  Jeff had a surgery he had to do and we both decided it would be ok for me to take her on my own.  My sweet friend Laurel watched Little Miss for us and it helped so much to know that she would be happy and safe while we were gone.  Lyss did amazing.  Jeff gave her a blessing that she would be calm and feel peace and I know she did.  She wasn't nervous at all and allowed the doctors to do everything they needed to do without getting upset.  The only time she got a little irritated was after the procedure when I kept taking pictures...thus the "pout" picture.

 

The pass ended up being closed for blasting when we were going to head home, so I stayed with my cousin-in-law's family and they were wonderful to Lyss and me.  We had a great visit and headed out at 4am the next morning.  The trip was definitely a success and she seems to be getting some relief which is great news!

Seattle

Well, we took our first trip to Seattle on September 6th and we had a great time!  First, we met with the rheumatologist who diagnosed Lyss with Oligoarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis...which means she has four joints affected by the disease right now, but they are assuming she will have more joints become involved as time goes on since she has had four inflame in such a short time.  He gave us the treatment options and just talked to us about the nature of the disease and how there isn't a cure, just the hope for remission.  The treatments are all intended to control the symptoms as much as possible, but since they don't know what causes it, they haven't been able to find a cure for it.  It was a really overwhelming and emotional visit, but Jeff and I, through lots of prayer and priesthood blessings, feel very at peace.  We know this trial will strengthen our family and we know we will see the miracles of the Lord in our life through it.  We love our little family and look forward to the journey we have together!

While we were in Seattle, we decided we better play tourist since my parents were sweet enough to send us some fun money for our trip:)  We went on the Seattle Great Wheel and to the Aquarium.  The girls loved all of it and Jeff and I enjoyed just getting to spend some family time together, since his clinical schedule this year doesn't allow for much.  We just enjoyed being together and let all the stresses of life go for a little while.

 

Seattle is beautiful.  And it's good we like it because it looks like we will be making regular visits for the next little while:)

I Officially Have A Preschooler...

Yesterday, my Little Miss started preschool.  She has grown up so much and it seems like it happened overnight!  I wanted to make the day really special for her, so we made it an "all about Caitlin" day.  She loved it!  We got ready in the morning and skipped all our regular morning chores and went to breakfast.  She ordered a pancake shaped like a snake and then we headed to the mall to get her an outfit for her first day.  She was way more in to shopping than I thought she would be and we both had a blast!

 Next, we went home to get her ready and do her hair.  She wanted it straight down with a headband on, so that is exactly what she got.  This girl amazes me every day with how much she understands and how grown up she acts.  She loves just talking to me and learning new things and I love it.  I already miss her...and she is only gone 3 hours 2 days a week:)

Her teacher's name is Miss Jean and she said Caitlin did great and that she was "4 going on 8"...that's my Caitlin.  I love her so much and I am so proud of the little lady she is becoming.  As hard as it is to watch her grow, I really do love each new stage and look forward to the life she has ahead.

Summer...

 This is how our summer started...and that was only the beginning!

We ended up leaving for Utah on July 5, two weeks earlier than we had planned for our summer vacation.  The reason was my sweet Grandma McOmie (Little Miss called her Grandma Jean-Jean) left this earth and returned home to Heaven to be reunited with Grandpa.  She was an amazing lady and it is still hard for me to know she isn't here with us anymore, but yet I know she is:)  She wasn't afraid to do hard things and she had one of the strongest faiths I have ever known.  Her greatest desire in this life was to be a mother and raise a family.  The doctors told her she would never have children...she had 6.  And each one of them, and all their children, loved and looked up to her.  

We then headed down south and spent some time in Loa and had a blast, as usual!  Jeff's parents home is one of our homes.  We receive so much love and support from them and are grateful for them everyday.  Little Miss got to play with Kage and Miss A got to harrass little Alaina:)  We went swimming and hiking.  Did chores and farm work.  Jeff went horseback riding and Miss A and I spent a lot of time just looking at the horses:)  She loves them!  We spent a day up at Fish Lake and took an awesome little walk around the lake to the lodge.  We love the time we get to spend there and the girls adore their grandma and pa!

  

 And then we spent the rest of our summer with Grammy and Grampy.  This summer was bitter sweet for me.  The last four summers I have had the privilege of bringing my family to Utah and living with my generous parents.  It is anything but easy to try to fit two families under one roof, with everyone's different schedules and routines, but we have done it.  We have laughed and cried, there have been tantrums and breakdowns, but mostly, just a lot of love.  My mom and dad's family has been through A LOT these past 4 years and we have grown so much...each one of us.  I have always looked forward to the summers I get to spend there, and knowing this was my last one was really hard for me.  Yet at the same time, I am so looking forward to our future!  Jeff will graduate this coming May and bring a close to the student chapter of our lives.  I have loved being with him on this journey and we have really grown SO much as a couple and a family.  Our girls are our joy and our light.  Watching them grow brings me so much happiness and I am so grateful every day that I chose to be a mom.  There is nothing more important in this life for me to do than to follow the example of my Savior and be a faithful, loving and devoted wife and mother.  Nothing.  

While I was reflecting on all of this, I realized why it has been so difficult for me to transition into parenthood completely...I had such an amazing experience being a daughter.  My parents always loved and nurtured me.  They took care of me and listened to me.  They taught me the gospel and how much my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me.  They taught me how to make it home and they gave me a safe place to be.  And now it's my turn.  I get to be the mother to my children that my mother was to me.  Jeff and I get to start our own traditions, make a lifetime of memories and create that safe haven so that someday, when it's time for them to leave the house to start their own journey, it will be bitter sweet for them as well.

 There was a monsoon-type rain and Little Miss was in heaven!!  Miss A not so much.

 Little Miss was in her first parade ever in Tooele, Utah!

 

 And this handsome boy, my nephew Mason, was baptized...the same weekend that little Brielle was blessed.  It was a pretty great weekend. 

 The summer ended for us earlier than expected as well!  The week before we left, my dad came with me and we took Miss A up to Primary Children's Medical Center.  She had some swelling on her toe that lasted for a week and a half without any known injury, and then I noticed her ankle on the opposite foot was swollen as well.  After multiple x-rays and blood draws, they found that she most likely had a form of juvenile arthritis.  I came home early to follow up with our pediatrician here and he confirmed it was arthritis and that we are going to need to see a pediatric rheumatologist in Seattle to determine what type and the severity.  Until then, we are trying to change up our diet and give warm baths every morning to control her pain as much as possible.  Some days she has a really hard time walking and if anyone even bumps her feet at all, she cries.  She likes to be held a lot and I thought it was because she just really loved me...Luckily, she is one strong-willed and spirited little girl so I am pretty confident she won't let this or anything else stop her from doing exactly what she wants:)