Our Wonderful Trip to the Bay Area

This last past weekend, we went to the Bay Area to visit some our friends and family. A week before our trip, Ella had an ear infection and was put on amoxicillion. The night before we left she broke out in hives and ran a fever of 102. The morning before we left we took her into urgent care and the doctor put her on another antibiotic. Thinking she would be okay, we drove to the Bay Area. As the trip progressed Ella only got worse and worse. She had a fever of 103, hives, no appetite for food, and couldn't keep any food down. So on Saturday we took her into John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek. She was dehydrated so they ran an IV and also ran some tests on her. They even gave her a catheter (poor thing). That was one of the hardest things I have seen. They believed it was an allergic reaction to the amoxicillion. She broke out into hives while we were there so they gave her some steroids and benadryl though the IV.
After 7 hours in the ER they released her and said not to do anything until she gets better. Well, there went our vacation. We didn't get to see anyone. We stayed at Jordan's sister Marcie's house so we got to spend time with her and Jeff and Drew. We are sorry to those we didn't get to see. We hope to be up there soon. Since then, Ella is doing a little better. She still won't eat anything and is drinking pedialyte with 7up. I took he to the doctor today and based on her blood work results, she thinks Ella has a virus but is not sure. SO WHAT DOES SHE HAVE? It's so frustrating. We have seen 3 different doctors and no one can tell what she officially has. She is getting some blood work done tomorrow and maybe that will determine what is wrong with her.
I feel so bad for her because she is not herself and you can tell she feels uncomfortable. I love her sooo much and wish I could take her place. We hope she gets better soon so I can be with my busy little girl.

Ella's Best Friend

Mari, Matt, and Taylor came to visit us last week. Mari was my roomate in college. We both have little girls that are 3 weeks apart. Taylor is so much smaller than Ella it doesn't seem like it. It was fun seeing the girls play with each other. We went swimming, played at the park, went to Chili's, and watched the finale of American Idol. Mari just moved down to San Diego in December and I'm so excited because now we can spend more time with each other. We plan to visit them in June.

Uncle Jim's 50th Birthday!!!

My uncle Jim turned 50 on May 17th and we had a party! We went up to Big Bear for the day. It was fun seeing family and we enjoyed the cooler weather since it was 105 degrees at our house. We all went out to dinner and ended the night with some dancing. Ella loved to dance and show off her moves. She was the only child there and she actually wasn't that busy which made the day more pleasant. Happy Birthday Jim. We were so glad to be there with you.

School is out!

Today, Jordan finished his last final and is officially done with his 1st year of law school. HOORAY!!! It has been a challenging academic year with consistent 12-14 hour days of studying (no joke) ending in finals that represent %100 of his grade. I don't know how he did it. I'm so excited to have him home more. I feel like I get to have my husband back since I saw him so little this last year. He doesn't get much of a break because he starts his internship tomorrow. He is so excited to start it and to be out in the working field. I'm soo proud of his hard work and determination to be an attorney. I'm excited that we have 1 year down and 2 more to go. I heard it gets a little better the second and third year. I hope so. However, he will be busy being the new president of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society next year. I'm so happy for all his accomplishments and look forward to spending time with him. Go Jordan!

Scandia!

Ella riding the bus with her grandpa.
Eating cotton candy. How nutritious!
On Saturday, I watched the Stewart kids again. This time, I took them to Scandia. It's a place with miniature golf and carnival rides. They had a blast. My parents, Ryan and Wendy, and Jordan came too. Jordan took his 4th final for school in the morning and then met up with us later in the afternoon. It was so good the see him since I pretty much haven't seen him in over 2 weeks because of finals. We stayed there for 4 hours and the kids rode the rides over and over again. By the time we were done, they were wiped out, including Ella.

High School Musical

Ella with her Grandma Blocker
Last Friday Night Ella and I went to see the play, High School Musical at Chaffey High School. It was incredible and the students performed it really well. The singing and dancing was choreographed very well. I felt like I was watching it on Broadway. I couldn't take picture because we weren't allowed. This show was amazing and I can't wait for next spring when they do another show.

Where a Kid can be a Kid!

Ella rode this ride over and over and over again.


Last weekend, I babysat for the Stewarts in our ward. They have four cute and energetic children. We decided to go Chuck E. Cheese when they all got out of school . The kids had a blast and Ella loved to ride all the rides. She loved to look a the scary Chuck E. Cheese characters and had no fear at getting close to them. Her and Cannon just ran around the place while the older kids played the games.

We're in Trouble!

I have taken Ella and Paige to feed the ducks several times since the last post. We usually go to the same spot on the little lake the ducks are in. There was no signs posted around the spot that I was aware of. This time, we decided to walk around the lake. By doing that, we found this sign. ooops!

Brandon, Ella, and Paige

We stopped feeding the ducks and Brandon and Paige just fed Ella the bread and she liked it!

Laughing Ella

This Video is for Marcie! She loves the video of Ella on the swing. That seems like so long ago. Here is an updated laughing video. Ella loves her cousin Brandon. He seems to like her too. Every time he sees her, he gets excited and always yells to his friends, "Hey look, Ella is here!". Its funny because his friends didn't really care but since they know Brandon gets so excited they now shout out, "Hey look, Ella is here!". It is so cute.

Swimming is Here!

We have had some hot weather so we have been spending lots of time at pool. Ella is adjusting to swimming and she is starting to really like it. She loves to climb in and out of the pool and do things all by herself. We can't believe how fast she is growing. Last year she would just sit in her tube and now she is moving all around in it. This summer, there will be no more relaxing at the pool, just watching every move this little determined girl makes.

Happy Birthday Jordan!

On Saturday, Jordan celebrated his 26th birthday. It was a fun and relaxing day. He worked on a paper for school until 2:00 and the spent the rest of the afternoon with Ella and I. I took him out for a special afternoon while Wendy watched Ella (Thank you Wendy). Then we went swimming with some friends. It was sooo good to spend time with him since he has been studying sooo much lately getting ready for finals. We can't wait until they are over so we can see him more. Thank you everyone who called and sent cards for his birrhday. He really appreicated it.

Summer Time!

Peek-a
Boo!

The best part about living in Southern California is the the warm beautiful weather. Last weekend we had high 90 degree weather. It was very HOT and we took advantage of our swimming pool. I love putting Ella in the cute summer dresses with flip flops. This is one of her many dresses. You can see the shirt tan lines she has already developed. I look forward to the HOT summer weather approaching.

Hooray for Jordan!

Jordan was recently accepted for an internship at The Law Offices of Tuckerman & Thompson. We are so excited. The firm is located in Claremont and it focuses in family law. From what we hear, the firm is reputable in that particular field. Jordan is very anxious to finish his first year in law school and get some experience in practical law office work. The firm hired Jordan hoping he would continue working on a long term basis. I am so proud of him for all his hard work that he puts into his education and career. Ella and I love him very much. Hooray for Jordan!

Feeding the Ducks

On Wednesdays, I will be watching my little cousin Paige (she is 2 and she is my cousin. crazy). Today was the first day. Paige told me she loved ducks so I took her and Ella to Red Hill Park to feed the ducks. She loved it. Ella didn't know what to think of it. Instead of throwing the bread to the ducks, she decided to eat it. After we fed the ducks, we played at the park for a little bit and then went to lunch with Wendy, Brandon, and my Mom. It was such a big experience for Ella that she crashed on the way home and slept for 2 1/2 hours. I was able to get some things done and post this blog. We hope to feed the ducks every Wednesday because Paige had such a great time. Lets hope that Ella will start to understand to throw the bread and not eat it.

Our Talented Girl

A couple nights ago, Ella decided to show us some of her dance moves. Her way of dancing is squatting over and over again. Jordan and I couldn't stop laughing. She has been so-called dancing for a couple weeks now, but this time she would hit her toy that made noise and then would dance to the music. She also decided to show us her other tricks. When ever we would say, "how big is Ella?" she would raise both of her hands up and say "soooo big!". She also knows how to find her belly button. We are so proud of all the things Ella is learning. It's so interesting her see her mind working and the things she does. We love her so much. It's all on the video. Enjoy!