Khloe's Blessing Day

Memorial Day weekend

My family came into town on Friday at 6 am. We mostly rested that day and had dinner, of course, at the Brick Oven. Then, Fabi, Oscar, Alexa, Chip and I went to see The Avengers once the kids were in bed. On Saturday we went up to Salt Lake for a waffle for breakfast, did some shopping at City Creek, my parents took grandma to see Temple Square {this was her first time in Utah}, had dinner at Cafe Rio in Draper, and watched movies at home. Sunday was Khloe's blessing. My parents, Alexa, Fabi, Oscar, Luca and my grandma came to town from my side and Mom, Dad, Brandon, Hillarie, and their kids from Chip's side. 

Khloe's blessing was Sunday morning and after sacrament we had a brunch with everyone invited. It is always so much fun to have everyone together. That night we made dinner and had Mom and Dad and my family over for dinner. Chip made Buffalo Chicken Tacos and then we had a red velvet cake for dessert to celebrate Abuelita's 87th birthday. Having her here made everything so much more special.

Monday morning my family returned home and we went to Mom and Dad's hotel for some swimming. Kami loves being in the water! We then headed up to SL for brunch at Grandma Joan's and to take M&D to the airport. It was a great weekend. I miss you all so much. Abuelita didn't wait for us to finish singing to her and just blew out the candles! It was kind of hilarious.

Khloe's 2 month Checkup

Stats from last visit (3 weeks/ 04/16/2012):

Weight: 8.53 lbs, 47% (percentile)
Length: 21.75 in., 93%
Head: 14.56 in, 85%

2 Month Check up stats:

Weight: 10.89 lbs, 40.44%
Length: 23.2 in., 82%
Head: 15.3 in., 71%

Khloe is very observant. She smiles a lot, coos, and makes plenty eye contact :) She loves to be held, sung to, rocked, bath time, and snuggling with Kami while reading a book before bed. Speaking of bedtime, Miss Khloe started sleeping  from 9-2 and 3-7 at 17 weeks but with all the commotion and disturbance to our daily routines from the health drama we have had, she has regressed a bit. SIGH. So,  here we go- back to BabyWise basics. Today I will be feeding her at 2.5 hour intervals with a nap of 1-1.5 hour naps in between (after each feeding following "wake time", so if she eats at 10, she will nap from 11/11:30-12:30). We will see how that goes! Hopefully this tired mama can get at least a consecutive 5 hours of shut-eye...formerly known as beauty sleep. These days the last thing I can accomplish is beauty. Oh, the joy of motherhood :)

When it rains, it pours...

For the past month and a half, I swear at least one of us has to be sick. Khloe, Chip, and I have been sick alternately and on and off. We all had trouble sleeping and breathing at night about a month ago, and that led Chip to go to InstaCare on a Sunday morning which turned into a visit to the hospital to get a CT scan to make sure he didn't have appendicitis. Well, $1,000 later we were told he didn't have appendicitis, and that they didn't know what was causing him pain. {EYE ROLL HERE}. Then a week later something bit him on the hand and gave him a rash and nasty looking bump. Then,  a week after that I had my infamous appointment to get an IUD. Well, I had been having very strong impressions not to go through with it. The day of comes along and of course I say to myself "Don't be ridiculous. This is supposed to be amazing birth control." So off to the doctor I go and as I am sitting in the chair waiting for the doctor to come in, I have the same feeling again. "Don't do this". I ignore it. The doctor comes in, shoves that thing inside as I feel like I am literally going to pass out from the pain and possibly die. The doctor takes off his gloves and says "There you go, kiddo. Hope that wasn't TOO painful. Have a great day" and walks out the door. Meanwhile I am trying to keep a clear mind and get a grip. This is supposed to be painful, so I had heard. Anyway, that was on a Wednesday. Saturday morning rolls around {my birthday} and we are off to Salt Lake to do some shopping before we have to be back to Provo for our first date since Khloe's arrival. We get to the mall, do some shopping, and then Khloe starts coughing and getting fussy. We head back to the car and get the girls in their seats just in time for Khloe to completely regurgitate her last feeding. Fabulous. Dinner plans are automatically canceled as we will be tending to a sick infant. That night, I wake up to take care of Khloe and start having jabbing pains right above my right hip bone. It is so painful that I start bawling and Chip wakes up. He gives me pain meds that held me over till morning. I go to church with Kami and Chip stays at home with Khloe. We come home and I think I might as well  go to InstaCare to make sure nothing is wrong with me...at least nothing serious. My intuition was beginning to warn me something had gone wrong at the doctor's office. I tell the doctor there that I have a gut feeling it is the IUD. He checks for the strings and lo and behold, he can't find them. I told him that I also couldn't find them the day the IUD was put in. My OBGYN never thought to ask me to check to make sure I could feel them or at least to make sure I knew what I was supposed to be checking for to make sure the stupid thing was in place. he simply put the thing in and walked out. I stupidly thought it must be "normal" not to feel the strings since he didn't mention anything about it and according to the research I had done online, some women never feel the strings, even when the IUD is in place. SO- he sends me to the hospital to get x-rays and a CT scan. Sure enough, they found the culprit. The darn IUD was right behind my navel, implanted in my abdominal wall. I am told to go home and get ready to come back to have surgery to get it removed. APPARENTLY, the doctor had punctured my uterus when he put it in, implanting it directly in my abdomen. What a charm he is, right?! Long story short, I show up at the hospital at 7 pm (6 hours after the diagnose), have surgery, and go home at 1 a.m. Monday morning I start having chest pains and head to the E.R. They didn't find anything wrong.

Everything starts getting back to peachy-keen reality and then Chip gets a really weird, nasty rash on his face. Turns out it is a staph infection and it looks like he has infected pimples all over his face. $100 later, he is finally healing and almost back to normal. SIGH.

We are celebrating my birthday and our 5th anniversary this weekend. {I HOPE}. Here is to hoping we can stay healthy for at least a month.

A little sun worshiper in the works

Khloe left the hospital with a little bit of jaundice that spiked over the next few days. Luckily, we were not short at all of extra helping hands. Nana, Buelo, Ariel, Alexa, and Lycia were all in town and provided much needed support. Having to watch Khloe strapped to her mini tanning bed as I called it 24/7 was not easy at all. Luckily she has a very sweet and serene demeanor about her and despite not feeling well, rarely cried and just wanted to be held one way or another.

Khloe Sofia Price

This pregnancy was even harder than Kamila's...nausea until 8 months, heartburn from the 7th-9th month, back pain, major water retention, the works!! Thank heaven that the one wonderful thing is that the prize at the end of the "trial" is a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Our second little princess was born on March 26th at 8:15 a.m. It was a very happy and special day for me...As I held my second child in my arms, I remembered my grandfather who passed away that same day 2 years ago. It brought a tear and smile to my face as I contemplated the beauty of the plan of salvation. The veil feels so thin at times like these.

Khloe's birth itself was a huge difference compared to Kami's. We knew what to expect and we got to share it with Nana, Ariel, and Kami...Memorable moments include Chip almost passing out and having to lay on the floor to collect himself and Kami shouting out "She {Khloe} is all creamy!" when her little sister made her debut. We are absolutely in love with our baby girls...and very tired :)

Keep Your Fork

Sometimes the answers to our prayers come in ways much different than the ones we had hoped for, even expected...but they always come. February was a whirlwind month of emotions. Tio Chuy passed away abruptly on the 9th. I was shocked when my mother broke the news...I was so sure that Heavenly Father was going to have him be a vessel that would prove to all of us who love my uncle that miracles do happen. I couldn't come to terms that my surety had perhaps just been subjectively imposed. Looking back I can now see that the serenity and faith that everything would turn out alright that I felt, was real. It wasn't a fabrication of any kind. We all had been praying and fasting that he would be healed...and he was. He is now in a place where he is no longer suffering but happily and fully engaged in the Lord's work on that side of the veil. What a blessing it is to know that God lives, that His son made it possible for us to rise from the dead and be with our loved ones once again in his presence. What a wonderful thing it is to have the true gospel along with temples and the keys of the priesthood to make sealings for the eternities possible. What a joyous thing it is to know that Tio was greeted back home by his mother, his father, his ancestors and that he continues to live and share that beautiful smile with those around him...the same one he will greet his wife, kids, and loved ones with when we return to our premortal home.

Sometimes we don't get the answers that we expect, in the way we had hoped...but we always receive the answers that Heavenly Father knows are best. It truly is a beautiful thing to have hope in times of despair and sadness and to know that the best is yet to come.

Keep Your Fork

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things "in order", she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. The woman also requested to be buried with her favorite Bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

"There's one more thing," she said excitedly.

"What's that?" came the pastor's reply.

"This is very important," the woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."

The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say. "That surprises you, doesn't it?" the woman asked. "Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the pastor. The woman explained. "In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork'.

It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance! So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?'. Then I want you to tell them: "Keep your fork....the best is yet to come".

The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman goodbye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She KNEW that something better as coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question "What's with the fork?" And over and over he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.

So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so gently, that the best is yet to come…