fullerton trip: sea world!

this past weekend we did a quick trip to visit my folks in fullerton, CA. this was pretty much our "family vacation" for the summer and it was awesome! so awesome in fact that i couldn't be bothered to take any pictures except for the day we went to sea world.







we also: met up with some friends, went to the beach, ate at rutabegorz (my fav fullerton restaurant), and saw the last harry potter (so good!). thanks parents for living in such a prime vacation spot. :)

my favorite post ever.

and this is why: MY BABY GIRL CAN WALK!!!

see for yourself!


i can't believe it finally happened! my baby girl can walk! and can i just tell you, i feel on top of the world right now. we've been working towards this for so long that it feels strange to write the words. penny has been in physical therapy since she was 10 months old and now, two months shy of turning three, she can finally walk on her own.

you might say, that's quite late for a toddler to walk...and there's a good reason for that.

last year after penny turned two, we met with a pediatric neurologist due to her gross motor delays (i.e. not walking yet). he suggested we get an MRI done for penny and they found, in his words, a “tiny brain injury that’s very old, most likely happened in utero, and in the section of her brain that controls gross motor and muscle tone.” in other words, it only affects her walking. they couldn't say why it happened, it's just one of those things.

although it wasn't the best news, we actually weren't too surprised. it pretty much confirmed what we already knew, that everything else has always been on par with penny except her gross motor. the neurologist assured us that the brain injury wouldn’t get any worse and that the “cure” was physical therapy, which is something we were doing already.

at 10 months old we noticed some motor skill delays, and enrolled penny at DDI Vantage, an early intervention program funded through the state of utah. a physical therapist came to our home twice a month and taught me exercises that i could do with penny. with their help, she finally crawled at 16 months, an age when alot of kids are already walking.

we're currently doing physical therapy once a week at Shriner's Hospital, an amazing speciality hospital for children. both programs have been so beneficial for penny, i honestly don't know what i would have done without their help.

penny still has a little ways to go, her balance and coordination are still not what they should be, but that's small fries compared to this major hurdle that she's overcome recently. i'm so proud of my little girl and so, so grateful for this huge blessing in our lives.

the zoo...again!

paul's sister, kenna, and her family came to visit last weekend and one of things we did together was go to the zoo. i know we just went a little while ago but i'm always up for some more zoo animals, and it's always a good place to go with the kiddies.


i don't know WHAT was up with this alligator. he sat there like this with his mouth wide open for like forever....it kinda weirded me out.

*kenna's husband, gabe + paul's mom.


*paul's dad + kenna's daughter, maddie.


*penny enjoying a ride on grandpa's shoulders.

my family was also up for the weekend and, as i'm sure some of you know, when both sides of the family are visiting from out of town, the schedule can get a little packed. last weekend went a little something like this:

friday: splash pad in the evening
saturday: farmer's market in the morning / max's 3rd birthday party in the evening
sunday: baby blessing for elsa in the morning / dinner at debbie + glade's in the evening
monday: lunch, shopping, dinner, fireworks
tuesday: zoo in the morning / maddie's 2 year birthday party in the evening

*my family
*paul's family

like my color code? i practically had to color code my calendar just to keep everything straight! it was definitely busy but definitely fun, and maybe a little exhasuting. :)

and then i realized with all these fun events going on i didn't even get one picture of myself! isn't that always the way? ha.

happy 4th!

*penny + my brother jordan.
*my nephew max.

*my niece elsa.

*my mom + grandma balmforth.

*second cousins: tyler + max.

we had a fun get together at my aunt margo's home complete with food, fireworks and family (nice alliteration, right?). they legalized aerial fireworks in utah this year so we had our own personal fireworks show in the backyard. coming from a girl who grew up in california where fireworks are banned, it was awesome!

penny had fun petting some horses and eating nothing but junk food. the girl wouldn't let me put anything remotely healthy in her mouth, not even a piece of watermelon! she clamped her mouth shut like i was trying to feed her poison. all she had was a cookie and rootbeer, and when i say she had some rootbeer, i mean she nursed that pink sippy cup like it was her job and when it was empty i had to pry it out of her sticky hands with more than a little of my strength. i was pretty much going for mom-of-the-year award that night.

hope you all had a fabulous fourth!