million dollar baby.

Like Syd's new nickname? 

Over the weekend, Syd took a turn for the worse so thank goodness Danny was home. She lost vision in her right eye, couldn't balance and was too weak to stand. Long story short, she was in the ER all weekend where they did another risky blood transfusion. 

Earlier today, Danny was with her at the specialist's office (an internist) who did another series of blood tests and ultra sounds. Good news? Her levels are up from where they were this weekend. Bad news? Her levels are dropping from where they were after the transfusion. So, we've switched up her meds and are using all kinds of holistic methods to boost her immune system and get her well! 

Danny's been making her homemade liver, beef, salmon and chicken along with rice and fresh greens - spinach, beans, kelp and broccoli plus lots of vitamins. Both her and Hunter (who's getting so fat from all of this & no exercise) love it. He's seriously the best dad ever. 

{sydney's pharmacy on our kitchen island. this is not a joke.}

{hunter pouting this morning when danny left with syd for her appointment. see the treat next to his paw? he won't eat when she's gone. not even treats. so sad}

{our little million dollar baby. such a trooper}

girlfriends.

I'm all about girlfriends. I think I have the best ones. Seriously, I do. The only thing that so many of them lack are Arizona zip codes. This past weekend, a group of us traveled from Phoenix, Chicago, Washington DC, Dallas, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Seattle and Portland to Manhattan Beach, California to spend some overdue time with each other.

The weekend was perfect. Literally perfect. Easy. Fun. Relaxed. I don't even know where to begin - it was all this and way more.

...some of the highlights...

Being with the girls who know you best. 

Perfect California beach weather. 

A walking-only weekend. Love that. 

(Well, besides our limo ride on Saturday night)

The whole gang meeting Baby Dyllan for the first time. 

Spoiling Shmom with a surprise shower and Australian themed quilt made with love from us eight aunties, but especially Lisa who spent countless hours putting it together. 

Sipping sangria & swapping stories at Simmzys. 

Lisa getting congratulated on her nuptials by Kristin Cavallari.

Getting our hotel room bachelorette ready. 

Walking The Strand with a stroller. 
Reminiscing.
Knowing exactly which beach house each friend would pick. 
The very dramatic Forbidden Fruit story.
Playing the "husband questions game" - our bachelorette tradition.

Late night "dance" party and fashion/extension show in our room. 

Getting ready with the girls (I miss this terribly).

Matching bachelorette tote bags & water bottles for the beach.

Being there for Dyllan's first day at the beach. 

Spoiling our bride-to-be Lisa and seeing her glow all weekend.
Sincere hugs. 
Conversations you can only have with your girlfriends.

Listening to the restaurant cheer as bride opened her lingerie gifts.

Limo ride to Hollywood.

Salsa dancing all night at La Descarga.
Mervyn's Grannys.
Noticing the changes in our conversation topics. Mortgages?
Jaws dropping as Lisa cleared the dance floor with her moves. 

Joaquin. Eva. Casey. A-list.

Lunch & beers at Sloopies.

"Cooooongratulaaaaaaatioooons to you..."

Beachside breakfasts. 

Smiling so much and laughing so hard your face hurts. 

...and much, much more - but you had to be there (wink).

These weekends are the best. They're so anticipated, always go by too quickly and end with emotional goodbyes and counting down the days to the next reunion. Each trip reminds me how very blessed I am to have so many amazing girlfriends in my life... the kind who know everything about you - and still love and support you. Thanks for a fabulous weekend, girls! It's one I know we'll never forget. Miss you all tons.

There are thousands of photos. A small sampling. More to come.

happy birthday, e.

Wishing our brother-in-law Earl a very happy birthday today! 

We hope you have a fantastic weekend with the family in Pinetop.

{having some fun with the sparklers at our wedding}

{danny's sister tricia & earl}

The Bockting's 

{Joe, Earl, Vicky, Tricia, Teri & Danny}

oxygen tank.

This morning, Sydney collapsed. Danny raced her to Dr. Ronsoke's and he suspects that she wasn't getting enough oxygen to her brain. He admitted her to the "ICU" and she spent the day resting in an oxygen cube.

We picked her up this evening and unfortunately her blood levels are still going down (ugh). She got to come home as long as we promised to make her an absolute couch potato and crate her (something new to her).

All of her tests thus far have come back negative. We're really glad to hear she doesn't have Lupus (which was a major concern), but all negative test results mean that we still don't have answers.

She's going back on Saturday morning to have her levels tested.  If they haven't miraculously gone up by then, they're going to give her some synthetic blood and do bone marrow testing. Her body just isn't producing red blood cells - at all - and no red blood cells is no bueno.

Sadly, this all also means that Danny has to stay home with her and miss out on this weekend's trip. Bummer deal... two trips in a row. She's a lucky girl to have such a good dad. He doesn't even think twice about where he needs to be.

{the baby oxygen tank}

off to lala land.

We're headed to Los Angeles this weekend and I'm SO excited. Why? Because it's a long-overdue, girls-only trip to Manhattan Beach with my college girlfriends. Shmer is bringing along Baby Dyllan so the whole group can meet her and we're celebrating our dear Lisa's Bachelorette Party! Woo Hoo! Lots of fun, sun, cocktails and catching up in our immediate future.

While us girls are doing our thing, Danny and some of the other girls' husbands, fiances' and friends will be running around LA together. Love how that works out. Oh! And the boys are on "Dyllan Duty" on Saturday night... how cute is that going to be? Four men and a baby....

D and me love LA and a trip to lala land wouldn't be complete without spending some time with our Jared. The three of us are thick as thieves and always (well, most always) have a great time together. Such a nice guy, Jared happily let's us take over his condo and plays chauffeur every time we're in town. I just wish he could deliver me some A-list celebrity sightings once in a while. Do you think this guy counts?

"just the three of us..."

(sing to the tune of the will smith song)

{road tripping up the california coast :: december 2009}

{just the three of us}

{somewhere near big sur, california}

{monterey bay aquarium} 

 Quinnster, you'll be missed. 

pins & needles.

Danny and I are really getting a dose of "parenthood worry" these past few weeks with Sydney. Last night, we were talking about how we can't imagine what parents go through when their children are sick. Of course, we think of Hunter and Sydney like our son and daughter, but know that with a biological child the worry is probably magnified tenfold... The waiting for a diagnosis, the constant research, wondering if you're doing everything you can, staying up late worrying, watching them sleep just to make sure they're okay - the whole bit. In fact, Danny pulled out his sleeping bag and slept on the floor with Syd in an effort to keep her from jumping off our bed (i love my husband).

On Tuesday, we met with a new vet (recommended by friends), Dr. Rosonke, and had a wonderful experience. Sydney was greeted by name before we were (which any parent loves) and was treated like a princess. We spent more than two hours with Dr. Rosonke who had gone through all her records, asked tons of questions, thoroughly checked Syd out and we felt genuinely cared about helping our little girl, making sure all of our questions were answered and we never once felt rushed.

I won't get into all of the technical stuff, but the good thing is we're starting to narrow down the long list of "could be's" to a shorter list (our current focuses are her Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia which isn't getting better despite the blood transfusion plus the new mysterious issue with her back legs not working properly). We're hopeful that we're getting closer to a diagnosis - and more importantly, a cure.

Syd was a champ as she had x-rays done which showed that her discs and spine are good (phew), had an ultrasound (yup, on her back with the gel on her tummy and everything - she loved it and completely fell asleep) that revealed her spleen is three times the size it should be, had more blood work done, a urine sample extracted, etc. etc. etc. (i kinda wish i had photos, but it was the last thing on my mind at the time.)

Since her appointment, Dr. Rosonke has been e-mailing and calling Danny on a regular basis with updates and theories. Both vets are stumped and see Syd as a bit of a medical mystery right now. Danny's going back with her tomorrow for some additional testing and to hopefully discuss the results of some special labwork we're waiting on...

Think good thoughts for our baby tank.

{an oldie but a goodie. one of my favorite photos of the kids}

celebrating life.

As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, my trip to Mercer Island (Seattle) for Kerry's memorial truly was about celebrating all that's good in life... friends, family, fun and living life to the fullest. Of course the emotions were running high, but overall it was a positive, insightful and rejuvenating few days. The Seattle sun never stopped shining which provided the perfect backdrop for mine and Colbs' time with Dyllan Grace and her amazing parents. 

I'll let some of the trip's photos recap our time together...