stitches

back in december, esme and i were hanging out at my mom's house when ez smashed her pinky finger in some according closet doors. long story short, she needed stitches. after waiting an hour and a half at the insta-care i was told they would probably send us to the ER because they couldn't sedate her. they ended up giving me the choice. i could go to the ER (and wait who-knows-how-much-longer) or stay there and hold her down while the doctor stitched. i figured it would be easier and faster to just hold her down. it was a just little tear on the tip of her tiny pinky finger. how long could that take? 10-15 minutes?

 ugh. i wish. 

it ended up being 40 minutes of pure torture for my sweet baby girl. the nurse swaddled her up tight, brandon held her head and shoulders, i held her legs, the nurse held her arm and little hand while the doctor stitched. she screamed and thrashed the whole time. each time he stuck her, she would scream "Ouch, Owie" and "Mommy! Mom, Daddy!!!" then "I done! I done!"  and even more heart wrenching, "I sorry! I sorry". broke my heart. 

by the time we were done my poor baby was dripping with sweat and utterly exhausted. brandon and i took turns holding and cuddling her for a couple hours after. i felt terrible for what i had put my baby through. i should have opted for sedation at the ER, but i didn't know.  i do now.

waiting for the doctor to start stitching. poor thing had no idea what was to come.

the next morning, all stitched up.

changing bandages ... got to love, love, love that hair.

thanks to my sister, annie, who came with ezzy and me to the insta-care for support until brandon was able to leave work. i'm kind of a baby when it comes to things like this. 

christmas

we had another amazing christmas. early in december, ezzy and i went with my sister to the festival of trees. ezzy was terrified of the trees and threw a fit if i tried to put her down or even in the stroller. my arms were so sore by the end. ugh. what am i going to do with this child??
here she is clinging to me as we tried to take a picture next to the "elmo" tree (which she loved from a distance). i love how she is trying her best to say "cheese" and smile for the camera even though she's petrified.

the lights  at city creek and temple square.

christmas jammy-jams

chinese on christmas eve

cemetery ice candles

christmas morning

between her new bike and rocking horse, this girl was in heaven.

it was so great having annie and her family up from arizona. esme and robi became fast friends. love.

thanksgiving

 ezzy's 1st real thanksgiving feast.

 before...

 and after...

first snow

in november we got our first snow of the year. it was ezzy's first time playing in the snow and i was super excited to get her out in it. unfortunately, she didn't share my enthusiasm. the first word out of her mouth when we stepped outside was, "cary". translation: scary. like pretty much everything else in her life, snow is a bit too scary for her. she stood with her feet planted to the ground refusing to take a step and crying to be held. oh well, the rest of us still had fun.

disney bliss

in october, my parents took brandon and me on a pixar-themed disney cruise. after some debate, b and i made the decision to leave esme at home. she stayed with my sister’s family and we knew she would be in good hands. i think we had forgotten how wonderful travel can be without a child. don’t get me wrong, i LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my baby girl, but a week without her was AMAZING.

we drove with my parents to california on saturday and boarded the disney wonder on sunday. it was 7 days of no worries. no toddler to run after, clean, and pacify. no meals to prepare, no dishes to do, no laundry to fold, no diapers to change, no groceries to buy, no 13-hour work days for brandon, (oh my gosh, i could go on and on).

our first day was at sea. we had breakfast with the disney characters, went to a movie (i think Brave), explored the ship, and of course stuffed our faces.

our first port was san francisco for 2 days. our first day we were able to visit the pixar studios and get a tour from my cousin, emma’s, husband. amazing! we of course stopped by china town and bought a week’s supply chinese candy. mmm. that evening we explored the island of alcatraz. creepy.

the next day, we were still in san francisco and were able to meet up with my cousin, joe, and his wife, liz. it was great to see them and their two adorable boys. we toured the __________. fascinating. it was a cargo ship that was on the shores of normandy just days after d-day. on our way back to the ship we stumbled across a shop that was jam-packed with old, antique carnival games. most of the games were in working condition and were hysterical to play, albeit a bit creepy.

the ship's engine room was insane. it seemed to go down forever. and a cool piece of info - it was used in the filming of the titanic. it has the same engine that the titanic did.

we played "i spy"... can you find us???

seriously creepy

that night, as our ship sailed out of the bay we wrapped up in blankets and braved the wind to watch the golden gate bridge pass over us and the city light fade into the distance.

the next morning we were in san diego where we spent the day at sea world.

the next day was another day at sea. so nice. brandon and i slept in. my favorite. we had brunch at the palo (the boat's "fancy" french restaurant) where we endulged, and discovered a new favorite... goat cheese and grape pizza. so good! who would have known. we also layed out by the pool, read, and watched another movie or two. that night was pirate night which included fireworks, a pool-side dance party and of course, more food.

our last port was ensanada, mexico. the armpit of mexico... actually worse than the armpit. not my favorite place to travel... and i love mexico and it's craziness.

The trip was amazing and much needed. Thanks to my parents for a fantastic week!