Surgery...

Ali had her surgery on her ears today. She had both tubes removed, both replaced and also had her adnoids removed. It was an early morning... starting at 5:30 a.m. for us! She of course woke up happy and was so sweet waiting for them to take her back. When they did come and get her she went back smiling. Even though this was the 3rd time she's been put under, it still kills me to let them come and walk away with my baby. I'm guessing it never gets easy.

Because Ali had her adnoids removed, she had to have an IV and a little more sedation. This made it a little bit harder for her to wake up. She was sad and cried while trying to wake up. The doctor came in and told us she did great in the surgery and most everything went well. When the dr took her left tube out, the hole that was left behind didn't close up well, so he had to put a small patch on it. He said we might have to go back in in a few weeks and re-patch it if it doesn't work.

You might notice the rash on this cute baby's face... well she's had it since Saturday along with a high fever. We thought the rash was just due to the fever she had, but the fever broke on Monday and the rash kept getting worse. My sister, Whitney's girls have also been sick, and she took them in to the doctor today. When she explained Ali's symptoms her doctor said to get her in right away. So... we went back into Logan and saw her pediatrician. Come to find out, she has hand foot and mouth disease. She is now on medication for it, but is contagious for a few days. Poor girl! Through it all she was smiling and being as happy as she possibly could be.

Cute little socks and hospital tag. :)

This is how I survived today. One for each trip made into Logan. Both full of Diet Coke. It's been a L-O-N-G day.

Swinging at the Park

What a beautiful couple of days we've had! The weather has been amazing, so we ran out to our little neighborhood park today to do a little swinging! Ali LOVES to swing this year, so I have a feeling we will be spending a great deal of time at the park this summer!

Shark Teeth

Well, Ali is 16 months and 5 days old and has a variety of teeth in her mouth! She has her two bottom teeth (she got them at 12 mo), one front top tooth, and a few molars! We might have to start calling her 'Shark Tooth' though because of the fun little tooth that is coming in behind her front bottom teeth! That's right, a second row of teeth. Needless to say, we have an appointment with a dentist to see what we're going to do about that.

I've asked a few people (dentists, doctors, therapists, etc) if I should anticipate any teeth problems due to her Down's. The only thing I've been told is that her teeth will probably pop in in a strange order (VERY TRUE!). So, the spare tooth was a surprise! Her teeth are also VERY sharp (which can also be a Down's thing).

So here is our little 'Shark-Tooth'!

Snow... finally!

We got some snow! Ali and I ran outside to enjoy it, just in case it doesn't last long! We made a teeny-tiny snowman...

Ali laid back and relaxed a bit...

and Mom pulled Ali around in the sled for a few minutes!

Yay for snow!!!

Happy Valentine's!

What a beautiful Valentine's Day! Stuart kicked it off with 2 dozen flowers brought home the night before, one for me and one for Ali! Then he made chocolate dipped strawberries, yum! Cupid came during the night and left Ali some fun stuff! And I got Stuart some Cherry cream soda's and a little book I made, "52 Things I Love About You!". I sure do LOVE our little family!!!

Ali enjoyed all of the fun things that Cupid brought her! She got a balloon,

flowers, a card

(that she read for a few minutes)

and a cute sock monkey!

Ali's Valentine to Daddy

This is what Ali gave to her dad this year! It's cute because she has such tiny tiny hands!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had ourselves a little photo shoot to send with some Valentine's this year! Sesaly, Howie and Lydia joined us!

This shot was one of my favorites! It is just so... Ali!

Library Fun!

We met Aunt Whitney and cousins Howie and Lydia at the library today. Ali got to have some computer fun with Howie!
Ali really liked the headphones, I was surprised she kept them on!

Ali LOVES hitting the keys on computers, it makes it hard to do stuff on the computer! Howie was cute though and would just say, "Oh, Ali!" in a cute little voice everytime Ali messed up what Howie was doing.

Piggy Tails

Aunt Whitney babysat little Ali a little while ago so that Stu and I could go on a date. When we picked her up she was wearing this new cute onesie and had gotten her hair done in cute little pig-tails! The onesie says "Auntie is crazy about me!" Shopping and a makeover? I think Ali is spoiled!

Make-A-Plate

My brother and sister-in-law's family bought a kit to make these custom plates! They actually bought the classroom pack so they had a bunch of extras, so Ali got to make one too!

Then Stuart decided that he would draw kitty wiskers on Ali's face with the washable markers. I have to admit, she does make a pretty cute little kitty!

Ali's Favorite Christmas Gift

This is Ali's favorite Christmas gift this year... a box. It came from her birth-grandparents, and it had a doll attached. But after taking the doll off, she just wanted the box. I keep thinking I need to throw it out, since it looks like I just have garbage on my floor, but I can't bring myself to do it. She plays with this box EVERYDAY! She actually 'reads' it. She holds it up and looks at the back and talks in a very loud voice as if she is reading the words on it. It's hilarious! So, if you come to my house, just know the box is a toy, not garbage!

Messy, messy, messy...

Ali is such a clean eater.... unless Sesaly is feeding her! We had a wet-wipe bath after this meal, as well as an outfit change!

Standing Like A Pro

This little cutie is standing like a pro these days! She's got great balance and core strength, she can even dance a little while standing!

Finger Painting

Ali did a little finger-painting with yogurt tonight. She was hesitant at first, but ended up making some beautiful art! Then it was off to the tub!

Christmas 2011

Ali seeing what Santa left her in her stocking!

Aliyah liked to taste a lot of her presents...

And gifts!

Ali was so excited she just kept making this face and sticking her arms straight out! So stinking cute!

Aliyah's birth-Grandma made this beautiful aphagan/blanket for her. She loves it!

All ready to head off to church!