Why am I sitting on this man's lap? I don't like it!!

Mesa Temple Lights

We went to the temple lights with some friends. It was so beautiful (pictures don't do it justice.) Taycee couldn't stop saying "Lights"

Thanksgiving 2010

I don't understand why we went home to Idaho for Thanksgiving because this is what we left...



And this is what we came to...



But we had a fun time regardless of the weather...


And when you get snowed in for a couple of days everyone starts going a little crazy...




And sometimes we get a little mad...(this is her new face when you ask to see her "face")


But we made it through the bitter cold and are safe and sound back in Arizona...(for a couple of weeks till Christmas) We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Trick-or-Treat

I think she is the cutest trick or treater ever!

October

I really love October. Especially because it finally starts to cool down in AZ and we are able to get out and do some fun stuff without sweating to death.

There is a fun Children's Museum in downtown Phoenix so a couple of Saturdays ago we took Taycee to it. She had a blast. The Museum was so fun and so creative. It was great for all age groups.




This vent blew up air. It took Taycee a while to get used to it but she eventually go brave enough to stand close to it.

Carving Pumpkins

Oreos kept Taycee entertained while Scott and I carved pumpkins. Yes she was a mess afterwards though.



We went to the "BOO BASH" that Scott's school puts on every year. I was so excited to dress up in our Flinstone costumes and though for sure ours would be the best...until we saw another couple in his class with the same costumes :( Ha Ha It was so funny. But...we had a pebbles and they didn't. I am pretty sure that she was the best part of the costume!





Fred, Wilma, and Pebbles

Also Taycee had her 18 month check up on the 29th. They had to remeasure her because the nurse thought she had totally measured her wrong...but she got the same measurement twice. I guess Taycee had been going through a growth spurt?? She had grown 3 inches in 3 months. WHAT?!? The Doctor said that usually at 2 years they can double their height and thats a good estimate as to how tall they will be. Well if we doubled her height at 18 Months she will be 5'10. So who knows what she will be at 2 years. I guess we will have a volleyball player/basketball player/ballerina/model on our hands? I always wished I was taller. But I really hope for her sake she isn't 6'0 tall!

Band Aids

Most kids love band aids right? They usually want one even when they don't have an ouie. (sp?) I came home from the gym on Tuesday with a blister so I got out the band aids. I figured I would need two since Taycee likes to do everything I do. So I put mine on my heel and got hers out and put it on her leg. She immediatley started crying! It was not a mad cry it was probably one of the saddest cries ever with big huge tears. I am not really sure why she didn't like it. The only thing I can think about was she was associating the band aid with shots? Who knows?? I guess we will steer clear of band aids for a while.

Taycee...an example.

So the other day Taycee and I sat down to eat a quick lunch before doing a couple of other things. As I am getting ready to feed her I notice that she has her arms folded, her head bowed, and she is speaking her usual gibberish. I couldn't believe my eyes. She was saying her own little prayer. Wow! Talk about something that made me feel terrible. What a great example she is to me. You don't realize how much your kids watch you and pick up on the things you do, until you notice them doing it themselves.

Funeral and the Zoo

September...What a crazy month! Let me start from the beginning. We got home from Idaho on August 1st from Summer vacation. We got settled in to being back at home in AZ. It was wonderful! Then Labor day weekend came around and we decided we needed to take a trip back up to Idaho because my Grandpa Taylor wasn't doing very well and had been in the hospital for quite some time. So we went home again to Idaho and stayed for about a week.. Two weeks later my Grandpa Taylor died so we turned around and went back to Idaho. I am so thankful that I took that extra trip over Labor Day to spend a little more time with my Grandpa before he passed away. My Grandpa Taylor was such a good man. He was so charitable to everyone around him and loved everyone he met. He didn't have a mean bone in his body. What a great example he was to me of befriending everyone. He will greatly be missed. While it was a sad day at his funeral what a blessing it is to have the Plan of Salvation and the knowledge that one day we will see him again.

On a much lighter note we did find some fun things to do while back in Idaho. We definitely enjoyed the weather and spent a lot of time outside in the sun.



At my Grandpa Lyle's funeral



We visited the Zoo with Grandma Tami and Grandma Bailey while at home. Taycee had a blast seeing all the animals.



Grandma Tami and Taycee



Taycee LOVED petting the goats...in fact she loved it so much she decided she needed to give them a kiss....yes thats right she bent down and kissed one of their backs. I was tempted to wash her mouth out with soap...YUCK!



Powder doughnut anyone??



Yes..she was spoiled while she was home. She rode the rides in the mall. My mom said that I can thank her when Taycee wants to stop and ride all the rides at the mall back in AZ.




Look closely! Can you see her first pony tail? If not look closer because its there and I was one proud mama of that thing! She on the other hand was not so happy about the whole idea.


Taycee is so much fun right now. She is so intrigued with everything! She has been such a trooper flying back and forth this past month and she is an expert at flying. I think she thinks it is just part of her daily life. She is learning so fast and is a sponge! She is always doing new tricks and things that amaze me. However she has officially learned the word "no" which I am not too happy about because everything I ask her she responds with "Nooooo" in a whining voice. I can't help but laugh most times. She is a busy bee but I love it. It passes the time while Scott is away studying at school.

We Are Alive!

Holy cow! Yes we are still here. It has been a crazy past couple of months with me getting diagnosed, Scott taking his boards, and my sister getting married. But we made it through all the craziness and are just trying to get caught up on our sleep and getting Miss Taycee back on a schedule.

After I got diagnosed the first week of June I realized that Taycee and I were going to have to head home. I still didn't have my feet back underneath me yet and Scott needed to start studying hard for his first year boards so, we flew out early and left Scott in the heat to study away. Needless to say it paid off and he passed his boards. What a relief that was! He came up to Idaho and we spent our break in Idaho from the 4th of July till the 1st of August. It was so relaxing to be by family and to have baby sitters so we could go on dates every once in a while :) Not to mention to get out of the blistering heat (since July is usually the hottest month in AZ). My oldest sister got married the end of July. It was such a great way to end our vacation at home. It was so fun to help out and watch them get sealed in the temple. I do honestly think weddings are a lot more fun when your not chasing a crazy 15 month old around everywhere :) but it was still a lot of fun.

As for me I am feeling pretty dang good. I started on the medication while in Idaho and so far I think its doing its job. I give myself a shot once a day. It isn't really that bad, more of a pain, but I have a husband who always reminds me that I need to take my shot. I have learned that until it cools down here in AZ that I won't be spending much time out and about. I had an experience with the heat, and how it affects your MS, so I think I will be staying in doors from now on (or atleast until it cools down in the 90s). Thanks for all the great comments on the last post. It sure means a lot that we have so many people thinking of us as we go through this trial in our lives and we really do appreciate it!

I will post pictures soon of the wedding and our trip home. I am in desperate need of a new computer because it takes forever to upload pictures on mine so either I am going to have to start using Scott's computer to blog, or get a new computer. I am hoping for a new one :) but we will see what happens!

Everything happens for a reason...

This past week I have learned that everything happens for a reason. There is a reason why we came down here to dental school (not only because Scott worked hard and got in) but because of the events that have transpired over the last couple of days.

About two weeks ago I woke up to my vision going really blurry in my right eye, pain with eye movement and it really started to bother me. I started to get a little worried and decided I would go to the optomotrist. After going there I was told to go to an optomalogist. Through our insurance getting to a specialist can be very difficult and thankfully to a very persuasive husband I was able to get into the specialist the next day. After about 40 minutes of waiting and Taycee showing off to all the older people, we finally got to see the doctor. We told him what was going on and immediately he told us we needed to head to the St. Joseph's hospital to be seen and there was a chance my eye sight might not come back because I had waited so long to see a doctor. Immediately panic went through my whole body. What was going on? I had no idea and I was freaking out. We left the office frantic, called my parents and were on our way to the hospital. After spending two nights in the hospital and having a spinal tap and two MRI's they finally diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis. They gave me 5 days worth of steriods to get my vision back because I also have what they call optic neuritis which is a symptom of MS. I have noticed improvments in my vision but they can say it can take up to 6 months to fully recover so right now I am hoping for a full recovery.

Honestly, I was scared to be diagnosed with MS and the whole time while I was getting my MRI I kept praying over and over that everything would be ok. Scott and I had been researching things on the internet trying to figure out what was wrong, so MS was something that we had read about, and new it was a possibility to have. While I was getting my MRI I had this overwhelming feeling come over me that said Natalie, everything is going to be okay. I knew after that that I was going to be okay and no matter what I had, I could live with it.

So as of right now we are waiting to hear back from one more test and then we will meet up with the Doctors down here to figure out the best plan for treatments. I say everything happens for a reason because there is no better place we could be at right now then right here in Phoenix AZ. The hospital we went to specailizes in neurological disorders and there is an amazing MS doctor here. I am thankful that we know whats going on with my body and am ready to start treatments and start fighting it.

Untitled from Natalie Holm on Vimeo.

Wild animal park zoo

We went to the Zoo with Scott's family while they were here. Lets just say it was a very eventful experience.

The whole time Taycee refused to ride in the stroller. She wanted to be a big girl and push it. When she wasn't pushing it she was throwing a fit. When we would finally let her push it she got the biggest grin on her face. Oh no! She already knows how to work the system!

I had never been to a zoo where there were so many freakin' birds. They were flying everywhere around us. They weren't part of the zoo just a bunch of crazy birds flying around very close to our heads. Well we were talking about how gross it would be if one pooped on us and the next thing we knew Scott got pooped on. It was very hilarious until the same thing happened to me. Ya after that I definitely kept a look out for what was above me! This is me getting the poop out of Scott's hair and thinking it was hilarious!

It definitely must have been mating season at the Zoo because not only did we get to see the turtles mating but we also got to see the tigers. Yes it was very funny but we didn't get the camera out in time to snap a picture of the tigers!

I don't know if we will be visiting the Zoo anytime soon. I think we had enough fun for quite a long time.

Happy Birthday Taycee Bug/Happy 4 Year Anniversary

Since Scott always calls Taycee "bug" I thought it would be fun to throw her a ladybug party. Thank goodness for a great friend who lives here who can make cake and was able to make an adorable ladybug cake. Thanks Kristen it turned out so cute :) The party was so much fun and we had a lot of friends come. Also Scott's parents and Crae came for the weekend and were able to spend Taycee's birthday with us. It was a busy day getting ready for it but I think it turned out great. I can't believe our little girl is one. I know I say this all the time but time has really flown by with having her in our lives. I can't even begin to explain the joy she has brought into our home. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for trusting us with one of his children and giving us the opportunity to raise such a happy baby. We love her so much! Here are some pictures that we took of her big birthday party!

And also it was our 4 year anniversary! It kind of got put on the back burner while we were preparing for Taycee's big birthday party but I was definitely not forgotton by Scott. I got some beautiful flowers that day and he let me go pick out a couple of outfits at the buckle. I am so thankful to be married to him and love him so much. What a ride these past 4 years have been. 4 years ago we were getting married, a year ago we were having a baby, and this year we are celebrating a 1st birthday. I couldn't ask for a more special day!

1 Year Pics

While I was home a while ago I had Taycee's pictures taken by Tasha Price. Even though she wasn't one yet I wanted them done so really in these pictures she is about 11 Months. I am so pleased with the way they turned out and have finally gotten around to posting some. Thanks Tasha for some awesome pictures...again :)