Maylee Rayne at 18 months

Miss Maylee had her 18 month well check a couple weeks ago and she had only gained 7oz from her last appointment. She is still in the 2nd percentile (18lbs). Her DR was disappointed as he had hoped she would have had a growth spurt by now. I mentioned to him that she has had diarrhea for several months now and so after discussing a few things, he wanted me to take her off of gluten for two weeks and see if the diarrhea would go away. If that didn't work, I was to take her off of dairy for two weeks. It was either that or get her blood taken which would have cost me $530. So, for the past two weeks she hasn't had any gluten and it's helping! I am new to the gluten-free diet so its been difficult for me to find and make food for her. I went to the Gluten World store and spent $36 on 5 items. I don't want to do that anymore! I feel the need to take her off of dairy for two weeks to see if that is a problem as well because that runs in my family.
Otherwise she is doing great! She is officially in a size 3 shoe and 12 month clothes. She talks a lot and has the cutest voice. She loves Barbies, animals, babies and her blanket. She climbs on everything too! Her DR gave me permission to put her in a forward facing carseat although she isn't 20 lbs yet and she LOVES it! Grandpa Stock gave her the nickname Just Big Enough and it fits her so well. She is tiny but she keeps up very well!

*I let Maylee pick a picture of herself for this post. She would look at the picture and then look at me and pretend to eat something just like she is in the picture. She would then giggle and do it again and again...

Little bit of Skylar

Skylar's 2nd love (after me of course) was bow hunting. He had found Elk antlers on his last hunting trip and I remember him calling me the day he found them. He was so excited about them because they were huge and he couldn't wait for me to see them. Well, as you know, he didn't come home from that hunting trip, but the antlers did. Skylar's brother Beau, had them mounted for me and I was able to bring them home from Utah. The antlers on the top are from the Elk Skylar shot right after his mission. The ones on the bottom are the ones he found. He was right! They are huge!! I don't know the specifics on them but they are impressive!

The other day I received a letter in the mail along with this drawing. It turns out that Skylar drew this in sixth grade while attending Neely Elementary. His teacher, Mrs. Elston was the one who sent it to me. She explained that her classroom was named the Elston Eagles and Skylar also nominated her for the Silver Apple Award, which she won. (I also have the application he sent in.) Skylar was always doodling his drawings always surprised me because they were so good! I remember helping him review for a test for the fire department and all over his notes were pictures that he drew. Thank you Mrs. Elston!

Side note- It turns out that Mrs. Elston lives down the street from Skylar's station that he worked at, at the time of his passing, yet she never saw him.

Utah

Daisy wants to be a cowgirl princess ballerina and Slade wants to be a cowboy fireman policeman worker. Both want horses so they were more than excited to ride Zee. Thanks Beau for taking them the whole 10 miles, haha!

Maylee loved Beau's dog, Girl.

Guess what?! Slade learned how to ride without training wheels in Utah! Grandma and Grandpa Stock both worked with him and he can do it! He was very nervous at first but after a few crashes he got the hang of it. He is growing up! (Tear).

Utah

For some reason I can only upload 4 pictures at a time, so the post above will have the rest...

The kids and I were able to take a trip to Utah in August and I am so happy we did. The drive was long but the kids were very well behaved thanks to a dual DVD player :) Maylee wasn't able to be forward facing yet, so she got her own screen while the other two kids shared. It was perfect! Anyway, while we were there we went fishing!! Four of us fished and we all caught one. Mine is the smallest one but it tasted yummy!

We spent a lot of time outside and at one point I lost track of Slade. I didn't know where he was so I yelled his name and he didn't respond. I knew he was probably by the horses, and sure enough, he was! He said he heard me yelling but he didn't want to scare Zee. Grandpa Stock had been teaching him to not spook the horses and he knew better than to yell. He was just standing on the horse trailer talking to and petting Zee. It was really cute.

I brought a sword home from Disneyland for Slade and he packed that and a wooden stake to bring up to Utah so he could sword fight Uncle Beau. It was a pretty good match!

The Boy

This post goes along with the one below....

Grandma Stock gave Slade a really fun nerf-type toy. You pump the rocket and it shoots into the sky. Slade absolutely loved it! Then he stuck his middle finger into the hole and he couldn't get it out. Grandpa Stock tried everything to loosen up the finger and slide it out but nothing worked. NOTHING.

So, Grandpa Stock cut the toy down so it would be easier to work with.

This is the only time he will EVER be allowed to pose like that for a picture.

After about an hour or so of trying different things to get it off, cutting it off was the only option. Slade did a really good job and didn't ever cry. The butter knife was placed inside the toy and over Slade's finger so he wouldn't get cut. Grandpa Stock was able to saw through the plastic and finally release Slade's finger. His finger was very swollen and had a red ring around it for a couple days. The only time he did cry was when his toy was thrown away.

Taylor

For Pioneer Day in July, the kids and I drove up to Taylor and met Skylar's family for a little reunion. It rained a lot, but we took advantage of the sun while it was out. Grandma Stock bought all the granddaughters matching tutu's and shirts to wear for fun. They looked so cute!!

They are showing off their twirling moves! They are all pretty close in age besides Maylee, but she still keeps up pretty good.

Slade riding his horse, Shooter. So far each of the grandkids has a horse named after them besides Maylee. Shooter was Slade's nickname Skylar gave him while in the womb because we found out he was a boy at 13 weeks :)

Slade, Kinley and Daisy having fun in the barn.

It was a fun trip, although short, it was nice to see Skylar's family again.

Hamsters

Our first pet! We haven't had a pet in our home since Skylar brought home a rattlesnake and named it Fluffy. No joke, but I made him get rid of it when Slade was born. I was going to start school soon, so I was trying to think of ways to keep the kids occupied while I was doing school work and the hamsters turned out to be the perfect pets for them! We have two of them, hopefully both male, and they have been named Slade and Daisy. Maylee doesn't have one yet but if one of the males turns out to be female, she just might get one... The kids love them! I don't let them out of the cage often, or really ever, because my kids are mean to them but they are fun to watch!