Diapers??

Ok, so I'm having a hard time finding a diaper that doesn't leak out the top in the back when Anabelle poops. We have tried several brands and still are having this problem. Any suggestions on good diapers would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Florida

Sorry it has been so long since we have posted, but here's a bunch of pictures and updates. Our drive out here to Fort Lauderdale from Wichita was pretty long, but kind of fun. We traveled through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tenessee, Georgia, and Florida over 3 days. We saw four temples along the way (St. Louis, Nashville, Atlanta, Orlando), stop at the Independence visitors center, and a few cool other stops. It was nice to finally relax when we got to our temporary housing, though. Here are some pictures from the road trip.
Independence visitors center (above and below)

The RLDS temple. Pretty wierd. It's right across the street from the LDS visitors center
Gateway arch in St. Louis

Us at the St. Louis Temple

Anabelle (and me) enjoying the drive :)


We stopped at the giant Superman statue in a city called Metropolis...pretty cool, eh

And then we decided to get pictures of ourselves as superheros.
These next 2 pics just crack me up!



And we are finally in Florida!!!

The beautiful Orlando temple:


We decided to get Arcee a trim shorty after arriving. She was way too hot. So here's the before picture...
and after!
They even put little purple bows on her head! Mike wasn't very happy about that. I just burst out laughing once I saw them and had to take a picture.
Trying to get Arcee to swim in the lake with the other dogs. She's kind of a wimp right now, but she'll get all the way into the water soon.
Our growing girl. She is so cute and getting bigger and smarter every day. Her hands are fascinating to her, and she coos and talks all the time, kicking her legs like crazy. So fun!
yay for bathtime!

We finally made it to the beach on Wednesday evening. It was beautiful. I know that the ocean is salty, but I never imagined coming out of the water with a layer of salt on my teeth. Bleh! The water was pretty nice, an dnot as cold as I expected. I'm excited to go back during the day so it will be warmer and less windy.
Mike swimming in the ocean.

I also would like to share how grateful I am for Mike. He works so hard for our family and is such a wonderful example to me and everyone around him. I look up to him and totally adore him. I love you Mike! Thanks for everything you do for me.

Florida???

Yep, we're moving to Florida! Pompano Beach to be exact, which is right outside of Fort Lauderdale. We're leaving next Wednesday to make the long drive (24 hours, which we will break into 3 days). It turns out that driving will save us a TON more money than flying, and we can see some great sites along the way. We'll pass through about 6 states. Mike is really excited about his new job and will start working April 20th. We don't have much time left in Wichita. The biggest thing we have to worry about now is selling our house. If we can't sell it, we'll rent it out.

You never know what's going to happen nowadays...we thought we would be in Wichita for about 5 years. Well, we are thrilled for this new adventure and excited for our new life there. We will live about 5 miles from the beach.

Our trip to Utah went great. Being at my Megan's wedding was so nice. We were also able to go to Tom and Stew's Court of Honor and bless Anabelle with all of our family there.
The whole familia
Me, Anabelle, Graham, Laura
Nice lips Mom :)
Anabelle on her blessing day

Going to Utah

We're leaving tomorrow to go out to Utah for Megan's wedding and we are so excited! Our families will finally be able to meet Anabelle. Hooray! I just had to post that.

Baby shower gift

I made this gift for a friend who had a baby girl a week after I did. I made a bunch of flower and ribbon clips to hook onto the headbands at the bottom. They are interchangeable, so they will match whatever outfit she is wearing. Then I made a hanging storage thingy for them. I'm going to have to make one for Anabelle also, since all of hers are just sitting in a bucket.

And here are some cute pictures of the headband in action

Starting to smile

Ok, so I say that Anabelle is starting to smile, but of course I can't catch a good pic of it. It's so fun now that she's responding to us more. She is so adorable and I love her to pieces! Here are some more pics and a few videos of how cute she is.


She smiles a tiny bit in this one:

Long Weekend...

Our poor little girl got sick this weekend and we had to spend it in the hospital. Thursday afternoon she started acting kind of funny. She was really whiny, lazy, and congested. Friday morning it was a little worse, so I called her Doctor and we took her in. The doc was worried because she was so lethargic and nonreactive, so she sent us over to the hospital so we could have tests done to make sure nothing was wrong. She said that oftentimes in infants, they do not show outward symptoms until they are VERY sick, so it's best to get them tested as soon as possible. So we drove on over to the hospital Friday around 11:30 am or so. They did a spinal tap, blood tests, urine culture through a catheter, and more. Anabelle had to be hooked up to an IV all weekend, and she hated it. She was so pale and really had us worried. It was so difficult to watch her go through all that. It must have hurt her so bad, because I've been through those things and it is definitely painful and NO FUN at all. She was a trooper, though, and looked well every time the docs checked her. Her lungs sound clear, heart rate and blood pressure are great, too. The cultures all took 48 hours until they would call them positive or negative, so we had to stay there until Sunday afternoon. Everything came back negative (thank heavens!), so it must have just been some virus that they do not test for (they test for the common, serious ones that infect newborns). Although this was a very long and emotional weekend, we are so grateful to be back home and that Anabelle is doing so much better. We go in tomorrow for a check-up, but she has much more color in her face and is acting pretty much like normal now. We are so grateful for our Heavenly Father who loves us and watches over us, priesthood blessings, friends and family who care for us and offer help and support, and most of all a much happier, healthier beautiful baby girl.
Just not looking like she feels well
Getting antibiotics through her IV
This is the super-comfortable chair I got to sit and sleep in all weekend :( And Anabelle looking much better today at home