Halloween

We had a pretty good Halloween. Chelsea wasn't feeling too well, so she got kinda cranky by the end of the night. We also weren't able to get any great pictures of her in her costume, so later this week we'll have her put it on again so we can get some pictures.

Grandma Melinda made the most adorable Alice costume! I made the headband :) and in true Turner fashion, finished it promptly a few minutes before we left! We went to Basha's, a grocery store, to do a little trick or treating. She had lots of fun running around the store, and we got LOTS of compliments on how cute her costume was and how cute she looked in it!

This seemed to be one of the best pictures showing her whole outfit. Most of the other pictures only have half-a-Chelsea in them because she was running.
She loved getting the candy!

The last week has been pretty busy (Jacob had to help with the haunted house that Gila Prep was doing) so we hadn't had time to carve our pumpkin yet. We did it after going to Basha's.

Chelsea really wasn't interested in sticking her hand in much further than that. She did have fun picking up the seeds, putting them on her spoon, then putting it in the bowl. She had fun watching us get messy, though.

Jacob with his masterpiece. I tried to get a picture of Chelsea with it, but she was more interested in the buckle on her booster chair. She's been fascinated by them lately.

We laid Chelsea down for a second nap since she was sick and we wanted her to be able to enjoy herself Saturday night at trunk or treat. She had fun playing the games, got some cute little toys, and seemed to have a good time.

Chelsea really liked this game. I think she looks so cute sitting there, and I love the bright colors in the picture. This was the beginning of the night, so she was still in good spirits. About 10 minutes later, not so much.

She had a good time though. There were a ton of kids, because it was 3 wards combined at the activity. There weren't too many trunks to go to, maybe between 25-30 total for the 3 wards, but Chelsea eventually caught on to the getting the candy part. Overall the holiday turned out ok.

The next day, Chelsea and I stayed home from church because she was sick. That night we were going to the temple to take some pictures for Jacob's parents, so we got her dressed so she could run around outside a little bit. When we told her we were going to change her clothes, she went to her room, went right for her Alice costume and got all the pieces so we could put it on her. I think she'll be ok with putting it on later this week for a photo shoot!

We're Still Alive

Well, it certainly has been awhile. Our lives have completely changed. Jacob graduated and was lucky enough to find a job teaching high school English in Safford, Arizona. We found out about the job at the beginning of July. Jacob left JC Penney, I left Archiver's, and we moved. On July 24 we packed up the truck and left Ohio on July 25.

My amazing friend Jessica helped us pack. There is no way we would have finished without her! Chelsea was laughing and covering her mouth :) (Jul 24)

When we first got to Arizona, I was excited to be able to go to the Baker Family Campout. There is one every year, but because every member of my family has lived too far away to come, I was happy to be the Turner Family Representative. It rained all weekend and was cold and muddy. Chelsea had a great time. It was great to see everyone, but I was happy to go back to a nice warm bed.

Chelsea LOVES playing with dogs. Even if they are twice her size. This is my Uncle Tom and Aunt Ginny's dog. (Jul 31)
Chelsea loved being able to play in the dirt. I never let her get dirty. (Jul 31)

It sure was hot here. Chelsea and I decided to go for a walk one day. It was about 3:00. We walked down the road to get a snow cone. I was hot, and immediately regretted even coming outside. But we wanted that snow cone!

She wasn't very interested in eating it but she did insist that it was on her tray. That was the only day we went for a walk at that time--I decided we needed to go earlier next time. (Aug 2)

Chelsea has loved playing in the kitchen. Not cooking, just playing with the dishes. She gets them out, runs around the house with them, and sometimes puts them back where they belong. She loves the water jugs, rolling pins, and brushes. Oh, and we have to check things before using them because she likes to put Legos in them. We'll be in trouble when she figures out how to open the oven...

(Aug 12)

This apron was made by Jacob's Grandma Lauritzen. Chelsea loves wearing it! (Aug 23)

Chelsea also loves to play with Grandma and Grandpa Lauritzen's Legos. She loves to put them together, take them apart, carry them around, and put them in and out of things.

(Aug 24)

We blew up her tiny pool and put it out in the yard. She had fun playing in the water, but wasn't really sure what to do. She lots of fun though!

(Aug 28)

We had been wanting to go down to Phoenix to do some shopping. There really isn't much shopping in this town. We decided that Labor Day weekend would be a good time to go, hoping to catch some sales. We also wanted to go to the Phoenix Zoo. We decided to get a membership so that we could go whenever we head that way. The weather said it was supposed to be 104 that day. We had been looking forward to it, so decided it wouldn't be that bad, so to go ahead and brave the Arizona heat. Bad idea. It was so hot the animals weren't even really out and we were sweating like crazy. Chelsea was a trooper. We decided to spend the rest of the day in an air conditioned mall.

This picture wasn't too long after we started. It was so hot! (Sept 4)

We let her out of the stroller to run around a little bit. We have a picture from last summer on a frog at the Cleveland Zoo, so we thought it would be fun to get a similar picture. (Sept 4)
She didn't want to go back into the stroller. (Sept 4)

I try to let Chelsea help me do things during the day. She likes to help put dishes away (of course) but she loves to help me with the laundry. I decided to take some pictures of her :).

(Sept 4)

We go to the park every once in a while to play. She loves the slides but won't get on the swings. She also loves to play in the dirt. But, her favorite game would be keep away...keeping Chelsea away from Daddy, that is. I have also managed to get her hair in pigtails a couple of times. She doesn't sit still for me to do it, so it hasn't happened much. This girl is finally getting some hair though!

(Sept 10)
We went to Taco Bell after playing at the park. She was treating her burrito like a baby doll. Here she is hugging her "baby." I wish we would have gotten a video because it was the cutest thing in the world. We just didn't realize what she was doing, and when we did, she stopped. (Sept 10)

We don't have church until 1, so Sunday mornings Chelsea gets alot of playtime with Daddy.

Jacob built her this out of the waffle blocks. She was having a tea party. Notice the boots? Yeah, she found them and wanted to wear them. Napoleon Dynamite? (Sept 12)
You can never start too young! :) (Sept 12)

Jacob built her a pirate ship. It was so much fun to watch them play together. This is Daddy and daughter being pirates--notice the hooked fingers? (Oct 3)

One thing that I was excited to go to was the Graham County Fair. It was hot outside, and we weren't really interested in the rides, so we just walked around and looked at stuff. Chelsea loved seeing the animals. Some of the chickens and turkeys were so big I was really surprised.

(Oct 8)

That same weekend we got to go to Mesa. My mom was in town, as well as Darbie, Chad, and the kids, and Derrick came down with his fiancee, Anika. It was great to meet her and we are excited for her to join the family! It was a fast weekend, but it was amazing to get to spend some time with my mom!

We took a four generation picture before we left town! (Oct 11)

We had been wanting to go hiking, so for Jacob's friend Joseph's birthday we took him to lunch then we went hiking. It was fun. The views were just beautiful.

Jacob and Joseph after the hike. (Oct 16)

I made cupcakes one Sunday and decided it would be fun if Chelsea helped me frost them. She was actually more interested in eating them, but we got a family picture!

(Oct 17)

So, if you made it through all that, that is what we've been up to the last 3 months in Arizona. It's hard to believe that we have been here that long already. In other news, Jacob is working like a madman. He teaches high school English, adjuncts at Eastern Arizona College, and is doing ETutoring for The University of Akron. He's surviving, but we are excited for the semester to be over and have a vacation. We decided that after Christmas we are going to go to Disneyland with my friend Jessica (who is coming out to visit) and Jacob's friend Joseph. We decided it would be a good way to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, and it isn't too far.

I love being able to spend so much time with Chelsea, but I decided to take a class at the college to give me something to do. It is just a break, and I'm really enjoying the class. I've been scrapbooking LOTS, and am starting to get into doing other little crafts as well.

Chelsea is growing like crazy. We finally had her 18 month appointment, and she was 33 inches and 23 pounds. When we left Ohio, she had 5 teeth. Now she has 13 or 14. At least 4 of them came during the move. She is trying to talk, and can say basic words like Mom, Dad, Up, Ball, Book, Box, Dog, Purple, and a couple others that I can't remember right now. We're trying to teach her to say trick or treat for this weekend. Other than that, she just plays all day. She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and will sit and watch it for hours. We have gone to story time at the library a couple of times, but most times I am too lazy to get up to take Jacob to work.

Anyway, things are going alright here in Arizona. We really miss Ohio, but we're settling in here with Jacob's parents. Maybe I'll actually start updating this thing to make everyone think we actually have real lives out here...:)

Pictures

Here are some pictures of our little Princess from the last couple of months!

March 2010, in New Mexico at Explora!

At Darbie and Chad's in New Mexico, March 2010
Easter 2010. Don't worry, this wasn't her Easter Dress. Since we had General Conference that day, she wore her Easter dress the next week.
Her 1 year pictures. She totally posed for this picture :)
Beautiful blue eyes.
I have 5 teeth! Can you count them?
Daddy on Graduation Day!Chelsea and Grandpaon Daddy's Graduation day!

During the Graduation, Zippy (the mascot) was outside waiting. My mom took her outside to play with him. She loved it!

Family picture at Graduation. If you look closely, you can see that Chelsea is actually showing her teeth in her smile!

Here are some pictures of our little Princess the last couple of months!

What We've been Up To...

Life has been quite busy lately. Since the last update (almost 3 months ago...) Chelsea turned 1. That's probably the highlight of things. We had a little Cupcake Party with my parents and a couple of close friends. Chelsea seemed to enjoy herself. She was very polite when opening her presents...opening it, giving it some individual time, would look at the person and smile, then put it aside when it was time to move to another one. Very cute, and very polite. (We can't figure out where she learned that one...but we're proud of her :)) At her 1 year appointment, she was 29 inches and 19.6 pounds. She is right around the 50th percentile for height, but only the 25th for weight. The doctor told us we need to feed her more, but she eats what she wants, then throws the rest on the floor to let us us know she's done. I hope she gets out of that stage soon...and learns just to say she's done :). She's got 5 teeth (finally) and loves to brush her teeth. Or at least play with the toothbrush.

For Jacob's spring break, Chelsea and I were nice enough to go out of town so that he could get some good work done on school. We went to Arizona with my mom, stopping in Illinois to pick up my older sister and her two kids, then driving to New Mexico to visit my other sister's family, then on to Arizona. It was alot of driving, with 3 kids in the car, but it was completely worth it. My Grandpa passed away a couple weeks ago, and we got to see him when we were out there. Just knowing that he's gone now made the crazy trip totally worth it. Will we ever make the attempt again? Who knows. It was a fun trip. We were also able to see Jacob's parents and his little brother, Dallin. Dallin hadn't met Chelsea yet, so he got to meet her.

Jacob has been working hard trying to finish up with school. He graduates on Sunday. As of now, there are no job prospects, so we're just planning on staying here for a while still. We haven't completely given up, but we are ready to move on into the next stage of life. If anyone knows of any English teaching jobs, send them our way :). He's still working at JC Penney's, although the hours have been very minimal.

I'm still working at Archiver's. I got a promotion to receiver, so the hours are much better for my schedule (no nights and weekends...yay!) and I absolutely love it. I basically just open all the boxes when they come in. I'm the first to see anything new that comes in, so it's hard, but I'm doing pretty well at not buying everything that I want. Maybe some day. Other than that I've been doing alot of scrapbooking. It helps me to relax and get away from life for a while. Jacob lets me have time to do it (Thanks Babe!) and is excited to be done with school so that he can have a hobby--other than homework.

Chelsea is growing up so fast. She's almost 15 months. I can't believe it has been that long already. It seems like she was just a little baby the other day. We love watching her grow from day to day. She's walking like crazy (actually, she's working on running now), and is finally starting to play with her toys. Up until now, she didn't seem all too interested in them. She's learning to climb--anything and everything that she can. She was standing on the handle of her toy stroller the other day. Gave me a heart attack. I don't see how she could balance on it. She hasn't figured out how to get out of her crib yet, but she uses it for a snack when she wakes up. We try to cover it, but she just finds an area that not covered to bite on.

With the weather finally warming up, we try and take her outside for at least a couple minutes each day. She loves the sunshine and loves the wind in her hair. Yep, she's finally got some hair. She still won't really wear a bow, but we're trying. Chelsea jabbers alot, but not much is distinguishable other than "dada," "mama," and "dis" and "dat." At least we think that's what she's trying to say. She loves to point at things. She has a picture of Mickey and friends above her crib, and when she wakes up she points to it when we walk in the room. Yep, we've brainwashed her already! She gets excited when we ask her if she wants to meet Mickey this summer, so she for sure recognizes Mickey, and is getting really good at bringing you things when you ask. Especially your shoes, her shoes, her coat, and her purse. She loves her purse.

We love her to death and can't wait for her to keep growing and learning. She changes so much from day to day. It won't let me upload any pictures right now, so I'll try again later. Look for a post full of pictures. :)

Last Update of Chelsea's First Year

That's right! Chelsea will be 1 year old on Saturday! Hard to believe that it has already been a year! It's been challenging, but we love our little girl and are so grateful to have her in our family! We are having a small party for her, so I'll do a post on that and talk more about her developments lately.

Chelsea has been doing great since her surgery. We took the bandage off a couple days later, and she really didn't scream when we did it. The incision was larger than we expected (which we had been warned about). She didn't even seem to realize that anything had been done to her head, because she never really touched it or picked at it. She did hit it a couple of times, but she did pretty well at moving her head just before she would hit it.

She got the stitches removed this last Tuesday, the 16th. She was definitely not a fan of the nurse that was removing them. Jacob held Chelsea, I held her arms down, and the nurse had to hold her head still. She screamed and screamed. I'm surprised how quick it was considering she was being anything but cooperative. THere is still a scab covering it, which should fall off in the next week or so. The only thing we can't do right now is dunk her underwater, for another week. After that, she should be perfectly fine. It's still just a little bit swollen, but looks great! Here's some pictures of our little princess :)

This was just before we took it off. She loves books, and I think she just looks adorable in this picture!
Right after we took it off. She had 13 stitches in that tiny little area.
This was her on Valentine's Day. It's actually her Christmas dress, but I never got any good pictures of her in it at Christmas. We were all sick, and really didn't feel like doing much, and never got around to taking the pictures. But I fell in love with the dress when I first saw it, but wasn't willing to pay $40 for it. Just before the holidays, it was marked to half off, and then we had Jacob's employee discount at JC Penney's, so we got it for only $16!

After the stitches were removed. Her hair is finally really starting to grow, so you really can't tell anything is there. When the scab is gone, you really won't be able to tell at all because her hair is getting much thicker. It's still too fine to put a bow in, but hopefully soon!

Chelsea's Surgery

The last that I think we posted was that she was going to have a CT Scan. What the doctor found was a scalpal dermoid, which was deforming her skull, so it needed to be removed. She had her surgery this morning, and everything went well. It was exactly what the doctor had thought, and it was a pretty simple fix. She seemes to do pretty well, and we held it together as well (this could have been the toughest part of the day). Here's a summary of the day for those of you interested. Otherwise, just skip to the pictures. But be warned, as cute as she is, these pictures are not necessarily the most flattering.

We had to be at the hospital at 6 am this morning, and we actually arrived a little bit early. Amazing, I know, since neither Jacob or I are morning people, and have trouble getting up for 9 am church...Anyway, we had to wait a while to check in, but things moved pretty smoothly and quickly. We got her changed into the hospital gown, and she was doing pretty well for not having eaten since 11:30pm last night.

Her first (and perhaps only) "ouchie" was when they had to prick her finger for some blood. She didn't like it, and there was nothing we could do to console her. Between exhaustion, hunger, and then the poke, she was not a happy girl. From there we went to get her height and weight and answer health questions. (Side note...she was 18.4 lbs and screaming loud enough that we couldn't hear her height.) After that the anesthesiologist came in and met her and asked more questions, and told us what was going to happen. She seemed to like him more than the nurses...she didn't think he was trying to hurt her...which he wasn't, but he was going to make sure she didn't feel anything.

From there we went back into the waiting room to wait for the Life Specialist (or something like that), who was going to do a practice separation and let her play with the mask. Chelsea did fine with the separation (basically just walking into the other room with a stranger...kinda scary, I guess). Chelsea and the nurse brought us back some "funny hats" for me and Jacob to put on just so Chels could see them. She picked the raspberry Lipsmackers to go inside her mask. (They put it in there to make it smell good to help the kids...then before they know it, they are out.) They told us that when they took her away from us, everything was ready and she would be asleep within a couple of minutes. We gave her hugs and kisses, and they took her away. We headed to the waiting room.

The surgery was supposed to take about an hour, so we ended up falling asleep waiting. We hardly slept last night, then had to get up early, so we were exhausted. The doctor came out just after 9, letting us know how everything went. He said everything went fine, but he was worried about her soft spot closing up, because the bone had rough edges, or something like that. Anyway, the skull has three different layers, so he took a little bit of one of the layers and put it in the soft spot area (i.e. a bone graft) to stimulate the growth. He said it wasn't anything to worry about, he just wanted us to know that he had done it. We then found out that Chelsea would get to go home today.. We had been told that she was going to have to stay overnight. Then we got to go back to see her.

As soon as we started heading back to the recovery room, we heard her drying. She sounded so said...you could tell she was uncomfortable, exhausted, and had a sore throat from the breathing tube. After Daddy took her, she calmed down pretty quick. She hated the blood pressure cuff, and didn't like being hooked up to everything. We went into the second recovery room, and from there we left within about 30-45 minutes. We had tried to feed her, but her sore throat stopped her from drinking...anything. She fell asleep and slept until about 3:00, and is much happier now. She's crawlin' around like crazy, still looks tired, but is being surprisingly pleasant for having had surgery this morning. She has to keep the band-aid on until Friday, and she gets her stitches out in 2 weeks. Overall, the surgery was a success (as far as we can tell) and we are excited for everything to heal up! She's gonna be cuter than ever :)! Here are some pictures from today:

This picture is actually from the other day, but I had to put at least one super cute picture of her!

This was right after we got her dressed. Ignore me, just look at her. She's not quite sure what's going on, so she's still pretty happy.

This was us in the "funny hats." I think it's a pretty good picture, actually! This was just minutes before they took her back.

They brought out a little doctor kit for her to play with. Raffe (her giraffe) is taking a listen to her ticker :).

I just think this picture is cute :)

Recovery. They only had to take off just a little bit of her hair, which we were able to bring home with us. I'm thinking of keeping this hairdo for everyday use...what do you think? I'll admit, I didn't realize she had this much hair! The thing on her arm is a splint to keep her from moving it because of the iv. They couldn't get it in the top of her hand, so it's underneath her wrist.

Back at home, having a bottle, and just relaxing. My friend Jessica brought her that Minnie and the books..thanks Jess! Like I said, she's pretty pleasant considering she just had surgery!

Overall everything went well. Thanks everyone for your prayers and thoughts for our family. We appreciate them and are glad that it's over and can't wait for her to heal up! Then, maybe, just maybe, I can put a bow on her head and people will stop calling her a he...maybe!