more cannon layouts....

I have continued to plug away on Cannon's first year album. I have been so inspired lately and am finding myself stealing any free moment to work on my pages in progress on my scrap desk.

I had so many photos of his first birthday that I just picked 2 for this layout and then put the rest in pocket pages. This polka dot paper from American Crafts is one of my all time favorites. I used it for his invites too. The color of it photographed kind of weird here, it is more of a khaki with white polka dots. The felt monkey is from Sassafras and I thought it was the perfect accent since it fit the theme.


I struggled with this one for a while because I was having a hard time picking out the right accents, but I think the stars look pretty good. I love that banner sticker from Sassafras too.
And lastly, this page is about our visit that we had to the neurologist last summer. I am not completely crazy about how the journaling part turned out, but it is better than my previous 2 attempts. I love the orange polka dotted paper. You can definitely see my alphabet sticker addiction in this page.
Hopefully I will soon be able to say that I am done with this album. It is getting very, very full!

our preschool graduate.....

That's right, we have a preschool graduate in the Smith household. We were bummed to find out that we were going to be out of town for the graduation festivities, but Charlie did come home on his last day with this diploma. He also got some sidewalk chalk, bubbles and a pinwheel from his teacher. He was so stoked about all his new treasures.

A few weeks ago I had a meeting with his teacher to review the goals we had set when he started there. She said that he had made great progress with his social skills. He was playing with others without having to be asked and was rarely playing alone. He was also completing fine motor skill activities with little help and was able to stick with it for at least five minutes. He had completed the goals and will not be eligible for any special services next year in kindergarten. I was not surprised to hear this because I could see at home that his fine motor skills had really improved over the past few months. I have also seen him interacting more with kids at the playground and breaking out of his comfort zone. I was also not surprised to hear this because I don't think his teachers here ever really got why he needed help in the first place. The only reason he qualified for the program in Utah is because he was eligible in Idaho. From day one here, I have felt like the teachers thought I was completely crazy. I don't know, they just didn't seem to get it like the preschool in Idaho. I am thankful that his teacher here really did love Charlie and he had a great experience. He was bummed that school was out and is excited to start Kindergarten.

They also did some reading and mathematics testing. I am not sure why they did not do this when he started, but I didn't say much then. Our case worker in Idaho told me to disclose only the minimum and let them figure it out. I know the teacher figured out quickly that he was pretty bright, but she was quite shocked with his testing results. She said she had to ask him questions that she has never had to ask before because he just kept going. She said she was laughing because he kept saying how much fun it was. I let on that I did have some idea of what we are dealing with and explained that is why I have been pushing for the help he needed in the other areas. I did find out that Utah starts their gifted program in first grade (as opposed to the third grade in Idaho) so that is good news. If I think about all this for too long, I feel the anxiety creep in and I start to feel helpless and scared for the next few years. I just want him to get the education that he deserves and for him to love it too. Instead of panicking, I have just been praying. Praying for the path that lies before him, that all the right people are there to guide us right where he needs to be.

On another note, as I was taking the picture above Cannon came outside to see what was going on. He was not sure why Charlie was standing against the wall, but he was sure that he needed to do the same. Here he is behind the scenes, always toting his cup around in one arm and exploring with the other.

june layouts.....

I am so happy to say that with these last few pages I completed with the Freehand Scraps June kit, I am officially done with Cannon's monthly update pages. I still have quite a few other pages I want to do to finish up his first year album, but I feel like I have made a good dent in it.

The kit came with these chipboard frames from American Crafts. They were all different colors/designs so I painted them all white so I could put the patterned paper behind them. Other than having to paint 4 coats of paint, this page was simple and came together quickly. I laugh out loud whenever I see this picture of Cannon.

I had tons of scrap papers when I was finished with my layouts so I put together this quick card. I love having these types of cards ready to go because then I am much more likely to send them out.

Another layout showcasing all the cute patterned papers and that beautiful ribbon. I did create separate 6x12 pages with all the milestones/text like I have shown here before. They are just so simple I didn't take pictures of them for the gallery.

Here is a layout with the chipboard frames in their original form. I have actually changed this page a little bit because I remembered that I had the little baggie of hair that the hairstylist gave me. I removed that chipbaord scissors from the yellow circle and put the baggie of hair behind it. It turned out cute. I am just too lazy to re-photograph it. I just ruffled up the ribbon as I fed it through the sewing machine. I will have to say that this layout is much, much cuter in person. I am not sure why I couldn't get a good photo of it.

My pages are usually so simple I don't really feel like they need an explanation, but if you have any questions feel free to ask! The kit is still available at Freehand Scraps. Go get one.

we're home!......

Last Saturday we drove to Boise to drop off the boys with the grandparents so we could spend a few days together without the kids. We decided to go to Seattle since it is a pretty cheap plane ticket and it has been over 10 years since we were last there. We mostly just wanted to relax but we also had a little list of things we wanted to do and I am happy to say we completed them all.

1. Visit a few crafty stores. I couldn't find any recommended scrapbooking stores in the area, but we did go to Paper Source, Impress and Amuse rubber stamps. All super cute stores.

2. Take the ferry. We decided to take the ferry to Bainbridge Island. We walked around a little bit and had lunch at a cute little place called the Streamliner Diner.

3. Pikes Place Market. How could you go to Seattle and not visit the market? It was great as usual. The flowers were beautiful and all the produce looked delicious. Eric bought some raspberries and something called Salmon Candy. I was told by Eric and our parents that it was delicious, but I still passed. Yuck.



4. Visit the first Starbuck's location. It was tiny and crowded and looked nothing like the stores do now. Eric said the coffee was fantastic though.


5. Visit the Chittenden Locks. I really had no idea what these were or what to expect, but I was surprised at how much fun I had watching the boats pull in. There was a gorgeous yacht that pulled through and I was just amazed how nice it was. I would definitely recommend stopping at the locks if you are in town.




6. Go to a Diners, Drive-in and Dives restaurant for dinner. We decided to go to Slim's Last Chance because Eric wanted to try the Verde chili they featured on the show. The place had a lot of character and the food was pretty good. Eric gave the chili 2 thumbs up.


7. Take the Boeing Tour. Obviously this was Eric's choice, but I loved it! The tour was fantastic and it was incredible to see how they put together the 747's. The facility and technology that they have developed is just incredible. Another activity I would highly recommend while in Seattle.


8. Eat breakfast at Top Pot Doughnuts. We saw this on the Food Network so we wanted to check it out. The store was really cool and the donuts were huge!
We also just enjoyed the time alone together and of course we slept in every morning! We are so grateful the grandparents agreed to take the boys for us so we could enjoy these much needed days off.

We were told that the boys did great and everybody had a great time together.

Even though we are now on complete grandma detox, it is great to be back with our little dudes. It was nice to recharge our batteries and be reminded how blessed our little family is.

june freehand scraps sneak peeks....

The June Freehand Scraps kit is adorable. It is full of grey, yellow, green and a very pretty salmon color. It has two alphas which I always love. The ribbon was gorgeous. I just loved it all.

Check out the full reveal of the kit and gallery on the 1st of June at Freehand Scraps.

surgery day...

Yesterday was the big day for Cannon's surgery. He had to have his right testicle repaired. The procedure is called a right orchiopexy. I don't know if it is like this in other areas (it wasn't in Idaho), but here in Utah they don't tell you the time of your surgery until the day before because they set-up the schedule according to age. I was thinking we would be fairly early and of course was hoping we would be since Cannon couldn't eat after midnight the night before. So, I was pretty surprised when they told us not to get to the hospital until 11:45. I tried to keep Cannon preoccupied the best I could, but he was in the kitchen pointing at the cabinets and saying "more, more, more". Aww, so sad!

As you can see, he was getting pretty desperate on the way to the hospital...

Once we got there I gave them my insurance information for the 56th time and Cannon got his snazzy pj's for the day. These are very special pajamas because they have a tracking device in them. There are marked areas in the hospital the kids must stay inside of or an alarm goes off. Isn't that cool? We are lucky to have a brand new children's hospital by us and it is beautiful.
He HATED that arm band. He picked and pulled at it all day.
In the pre-op waiting room.
We were thrilled when we got there to learn that the doctor was an hour behind. Which actually ended up being 3.5 hours behind. Cannon found a way to pass the time....
He did SOOOO good. Once at the hospital he never asked for anything to eat and he was very happy to play with the toys in the waiting room. He was great for the entire 3.5 hours. About 15 minutes prior to going to anesthesia they gave him some versed to help him relax and induce short term amnesia so he would not remember the procedure or being taken away from us. During that 15 minutes he was not allowed to walk so I took him for a ride around the hospital in the wagon.
Getting his temperature and pulse taken one last time.
He was a charmer to the nurses. They all loved him and were constantly checking on him in the waiting room. They played games with him and read stories to him. You could tell they really love their job.
Then the medicine really kicked in and he was chiiiiillll.
Then he was taken off and we were sent to another waiting room. The procedure took about an hour and the doctor said everything went great. They usually have to make 2 incisions, but he only had to make one on Cannon. They called right away and said he was starting to wake up and I could go back to comfort him (only one parent could go at first). Then we got moved to another post-op area. Cannon started to wake up a little more and he was really, really mad. He tried to get the blood pressure cuff off his leg and when he couldn't move it, he lost it. I knew right away he was going to hold his breath. His monitors started beeping and the nurse and I were trying so hard to get him to breathe. She yanked him from my lap put him up on the bed. They had the oxygen turned on full blast and he was not responding. His back was arched and he had his head thrown back and he was very blue. He did not look good at all. Soon there were 6 nurses surrounding him all trying to get him to breathe. He took one huge breath and then panicked and quit breathing again. This time for a shorter period and then he snapped out of it. I kept thinking he was going to go into seizure again. I am not sure why he didn't because he was not breathing for a lot longer period than the time he did have the seizure. It took him a while (with a few more small breath holding incidents) to get calmed down. He was very hoarse from the breathing tube. He just sounded and looked miserable. After this the nurse said we were going to have to stay longer than usual to be sure he was going to be okay.

This was after the big breath holding event.

Right before all the action happened, they told Eric he was doing great and it was okay for him to come back and see him. He headed to room 1 as they told him and he walked in just as all the nurses were rushing. He turned around and walked out because he thought he must be in the wrong room since he was told his son was doing great. He confirmed room 1 and came back in just as Cannon started to breathe again. He didn't see me the first time, but this time he spotted me in the corner. I was crying and trying to keep it together. It is so crazy to be sitting back watching your child go through something like that and all you can do is pray.
He was very irritable so they gave him some juice. He sucked it down in record time and wanted more. Then they gave him some milk and some pain medication. We had to wait another hour just to be sure everything was good.
The nurse took him on another wagon ride to kill some time.
Then his spirits picked up and we were allowed to go. They gave us some crackers for the road.
And then about 5 minutes after I took this picture, he threw-up everywhere. All over himself, the carseat and the car. It was not pretty. It was so bad in fact we decided to just throw out the carseat and buy another one. He had some gatorade when we got home and then he was out for the night.

Overall, the little patient is doing pretty good today. He is still pretty crabby which they told us to expect for a day or two. He is a little loopy on the pain medicine. His pupils are dialated and his balance is off. He has been walking in to the walls and falling a lot. His incision area looks terribly painful. It is hard to look at. I can't imagine what it must feel like for the poor guy.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow and a fast recovery. I am so proud of him. Honestly, I could have done without the breath holding scare, but other than that he did so great.

Love you Mr. Cannon. Mommy is sorry you had to go through this but you are a total rockstar.