Payton's MRI

Yesterday, Payton had an MRI.  It was a follow up to check on the changes in her spine.  To start at the beginning, when she was born I noticed a small bump on her lower back.  I took her to the doctor, who then sent me to a surgeon.  They did an MRI and said it was a lymphangioma (a pocket filled with fluid).  We were told to check back if anything changed, but that it would probably go away by the time she was 5.  It didn't, it actually got larger so we went back to a different surgeon due to insurance changes and with a fresh pair of eyes, the surgeon found something suspicious in her spine.  He ordered another MRI to get a baseline to compare future MRI's to.  They called it a Syrinx or fluid in the spinal cord.  The fluid is supposed to be on the outside of the spinal cord, not the inside. 

They asked us to come back in a year to see if anything had changed.  I put it off by almost 6 months mostly out of fear that it would be worse or that the news would not be good. 

Yesterday, my prayers were answered.  The Neurosurgeon couldn't explain the results.  The fluid in her spinal cord was almost completely gone.  He couldn't explain it, but I can.  The power of a priesthood blessing and many prayers.  I saw the hand of God in our lives.  I know He is always there, watching over our every need.  He answers our prayers today.

Payton is a stong little girl and we are so blessed to have her in our family.  I love you baby girl!!!

First day of School

 I was a little unsure how the first day would end since it didn't start out so good.  It started with her waking up on the wrong side of the bed, but I was able to get her excited about school when I told her we could paint her nails.  Even after we got to school she was still excited, she even walked in tall and proud.  As we got to the classroom, she noticed one of the kids crying and upset.  That's when she looked at me, looked at the boy, then back at me and the tears started.  I picked her up to sooth her, not a good idea.  They had to pry her off me.  She had a good hold on me and my hair.  I had to just walk away and let her cry.  You could hear her all the way down the hall.  All day, I waited for the school to call, but they didn't.  When I picked her up, she was smiling and asked if she could come back.  She said it was the funnest day.  YAY!!!  A successful day!  It's been all she can talk about.  This will be good for both of us since we spend so much time together. 

I didn't get a really good picture of her because of the tears, but this was the moments right before she fell apart.  You can almost see the concerned look on her face as she's about to start crying.

She really has loved going to school.  She askes me everyday if she can go today.  I wish they stayed this excited about school.

Birthday Girl

This beautiful little girl just had her 3rd birthday.  She  blesses our lives everyday with her funny attitude, big smiles, bear hugs, and kisses.  She's almost always happy and laughing.  We love her very much and can't imagine life without drama, girly squeels, and all the frills.  Happy Birthday baby girl!!  We love you!!

After she opened each present she would stand back, pose, and tell me to take a picture.

She spent hours playing with Barbie's hair.

Pouty Payton

My very talented friend Mandie took these pictures of Payton a little while back. She was being a little grumpy that day which is why there isn't one smile. I actually like the candid straight face looks. Either way she still looks beautiful.

Carson and crazy fun

Why can't kids be good all the time? Carson is such a good kid, most of the time, but it's moments like this that make me so happy.

Payton wanted to play outside and Carson volunteered to watch her and play chalk with her. She loved every minute of it. She really loves her brothers, especially when they pay attention to her.

One thing we like to do at our house is let loose and be crazy, although we haven't quiet convinced Mr. Milan to join in on our fun yet. These are a few of our finer moments...

No more DIAPERS!!!

It's official, little miss Paytie is potty trained. She started out stealing Ethans underwear and refusing to give them back to him so we decided it was time to give her some of her own. It took us a while because just as we were getting the hang of it, her back got infected and it was too painful for her to climb onto the potty. Once that healed, we were back at it and she has caught on fast. We have only had a few accidents, which were probably my fault. She has been alot easier to train than the boys were. I hope I haven't jinxed myself.

Random January

I'm playing catchup like usual. We've had a busy January and the month isn't even over yet. The kids were so excited that it snowed, especially Miss Payton. Even though she has been raised in Texas, there is a Utah girl down inside of her. She absolutely LOVED the snow and screamed when I brought her inside to warm her up.

Company came to town and boy did we keep them busy. The boys both recieved awards at pack meeting and Ethan was so excited to race in the pinewood derby for the first time. This is the crew enjoying the race.

As Ethan enters into the boy scout program, he starts off as a bobcat. They had his dad hold him upside down while I pinned on the bobcat pin so that when he was upright the pin was upside down. When he does a good deed, then he can turn the pin the right way. He didn't waste anytime. He stayed after pack meeting with his dad and helped clean up so he could turn his pin around. He's definately not a procrastinator like his mom or dad. Wonder where he gets it from.

Carson crossed over from cub scout to boy scout. What an exciting day for him. He finally gets to be with his best buddy again. He is also excited to go on campouts, his dad-not so much.

This is Ethan's car, the silver shark. This kid has moved on from pirates to sharks. I think he likes the water or something.

Ethan couldn't have been more excited for his baptism. We gave him the option of doing it in Utah where all of his family could be there or doing it in Texas and only a few family would be able to come. He opted for Texas so that his little buddy down the street could come (and he did come). It was such a great day.

It was so nice to have my dad and sister come visit us again. Not living close by, I feel like I miss out on a lot of quality time with him. There is something comforting about a Father and having my dad here visiting was just that, comforting. Thanks Dad, I love you!!!

So, I probably embarrassed Annie to death and she'll probably never come again, but it was fun. There is a boy here in Texas that she's friends with and the sister that I am, didn't want her to feel like she missed out on any of that sister teasing that sisters do. I love you Annie!!! It was fun having her here to go shopping with and stay up late chatting with and playing board games with. Come back Annie!!!
Isn't he just the cutest father in law? I love this man. He comes to visit and my honey do list seems to shrink, even the things not on my list get done. Its wonderful.

Payton and Grandma were sitting at the counter and every move grandma made, Payton copied. It was so funny. She looked at me and said, "take picture", so I did. She loves her grandma.

And then we have Payton's back. I noticed Paytons surgery site was looking a little red, so I watched it. It started to get bigger, more red, and more painful. We went to the Pediatrician, who put her on an antibiotic and told us to go to the surgeon. So we are, today, hopefully he has good news for us. She doesn't usually complain, but she has lately so you know it hurts.

Payton's Surgery

Payton had sugery to remove a Lymphangioma on her back and to have her hernia repaired. Surgery went well and she is doing amazing.

We noticed a few months ago that the mass on her back was getting bigger and changing color so the Doctor told us it would need to be removed. His concern was it becoming infected since it was bleeing into the mass. She must have bumped it and caused it to start bleeding. We're glad it's over with and that she is doing so well. She is one tuff little princess.

Payton's photo shoot sneek peek

I had the kids' pictures taken yesterday since I haven't had them done since Payton was 6 months old. Mandie was kind enough to give me a sneek peek of Payton. I had to share because she did an amazing job capturing her.Thank you Mandie!!!

Payton on the phone

Payton loves to talk on the phone, but especially to Lucy the dog (aka Grandpa). This is one of her usual Sunday conversations with Lucy.

Payton turns 2

This is my beautiful birthday girl.

and here is a little birthday movie for your enjoyment...(you gotta watch it til the end)

She really loved her cake and she did really good not getting too messy.











She is so much fun, but at the same time she is so hard. It has been fun dressing her up especially since she loves it too. She is definitely a girly girl, with a tough side. She loves to have her hair done, dress in dresses, play with her babies, dance to music, take bathes, and have her nails painted. She also loves to rough house with her brothers, play in the dirt, play basketball with her daddy, and play outside. She can definitely hold her own. She is very smart and has figured out how to get her way, most of the time. This is a picture of one of her tantrums because she didn't get her way... who said terrible 2's start at 2, we were there at 1.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!!!