Fitt Family Reunion 2018

Every three years, Jon's grandpa's siblings on down get together in Utah for a family reunion, and 2018 was one of those time. Jon took off work and we made the trek down to Utah to join on in the fun.

The first day we drove straight to a mini reunion on Grandma Fitt's side of the family. They had food and a huge blow-up water jump house which Phoebe thought was the coolest, especially because it was so hot!

For the main Fitt reunion we spent time in Heber Valley at a chalet. Phoebe ate her first oreo, got aquainted with Grandma and Grandpa Fitt, and hung out with the cousins. Jon spent some time hitting around a baseball with his sibling and Uncle David (who was sure to show off his baseball moves).

Not all our time was spent at the Fitt reunion, though. Jon's immediate family decided to rent a house to stay at while there so that we could spend more time together. We played games, ate junk food, and slept at night and then ran off and adventured during the day when it wasn't Fitt reunion time. We walked to church just around the corner on Sunday and on Tuesday enjoyed lunch at Tucanos (Jon was in heaven), looking at animals at the Bean Museum at BYU, and got ice cream at the BYU creamery.

The reunion happened to fall on Phoebe's birthday, so we got to celebrate it with them! On her actual birthday she was so worn out from traveling that she fell asleep in her high chair in a room full of noisy people. So we waited until the next day when things calmed down to do the celebration. She had lots of cousins to excitedly watch her open presents and when it came time to eat cake, she wasn't quite sure what to do--"It's so big!" she seemed to say--and so she just flopped her face right down into it.

On our last day we said goodbye to Jon's family and spent the day adventuring around. We met with my old boss, Fred, from my days doing early morning custodial at the Tanner Building during college. Then, we dropped by and walked around the grounds at the Provo City Center temple, which was completed right after we left Utah. After a visit with my Uncle Steven, we were able to say hi to one of Jon's old roommates, Jacob. That night we slept at my Uncle David's place and while I visited with my cousin Stephanie and her new baby there, Jon ran off to say hi to another old roommate, Eric.

On our drive home, we stopped for lunch to say hi to my Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen and Aunt Janet. How grateful I am that we did, for my Grandpa passed away just a week after that.

And that was it! Like I said, the Lord has blessed us with more amazing people in our lives than I can count, and it was a blessing to spend time with them.

4th of July and Birthday Celebrations

For the Fourth of July my family drove up to spend the day with us and to celebrate Emily and Phoebe's birthdays. Having all my sisters home for the summer has been a tremendous blessing. I'm trying to soak in get togethers like this as much as I can because I realize that as my sisters go off to school, get jobs, and start families of their own, it's going to be a lot harder to get everyone together.

Phoebe didn't really get what all the hoopla was about, but we enjoyed celebrating her. I had cute decorations my good friend, Lui, gave us to use, which made for some fun. Phoebe thought it was weird we buried toys in bags and paper, but boy--tissue paper is cool! And Abby brought her a cupcake which she enjoyed munching down. Overall, a success!

Before we sent my family on their way, we set off a few fireworks. We thought they would scare Phoebe, but they didn't--she even helped Grandma Rogers set off one! After the family left Jon and I waited for a little more dark before lighting the rest of the fireworks, some of which were generously gifted to us by a good friend. It was the perfect way to end the day.

July 2018

July was the best month I've had all year. It's been so full of time with family and fun that my house is a disaster, but my heart is full. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with such amazing family. 

And little Phoebe? She's not so little anymore! She's in the 98% for height, is walking/running like crazy, eating, clapping, sippy-cup-ing, babbling, laughing, and being the joy of our lives. One year old looks good on you, Phoebees! 

Because we did so much, I'm going to split July's photos into separate posts. In the meantime, here's a little squish to brighten up your day!

June 2018

First Row:

• We had s'mores at our place and Phoebe LOVED the attention!
• We said goodbye to some of our favorite missionaries--Sis. Lee, Sis. Olmstead, and Elder Brown!

Second Row:

• Phoebe and I went to my sister-in-law's place to spend the night.
• Phoebe started walking and loves the independence! 
• We went to the zoo for the first time. Phoebe didn't quite get it and found it more entaining to watch the zookeepers talking about the animals than the animals themselves, but it was still nice to be outside with family and friends.

Third Row:

• We started cutting out some grass in the front of our yard to put in this flower patch. 
• Kate graduated! What?!!!
• To celebrate Kate's graduation, the sisters went and goofed off at Walmart. It's surprising how fun that store can be after 9pm.

May 2018

First Row:

• We went to the Northwest Wildlife Park. Phoebe liked to see the animals, but by the end it was nap time.
• We met with Phoebe's doctor at Seattle Children's and he says her lip is doing great. Whoo-hoo!Jessica came and spent a weekend with us. We watched a movie and had treats and went to the park and went shopping and were sad when she had to go.

Second Row:

• Phoebe and I traveled down to Vancouver with our friend, Carlene, to do some hiking down in Southern Washington. We hiked to Falls Creek Falls, stopped to look at Panther Creek Falls, and hiked through Forest Park in Portland.
• Phoebe is leaning to get into things she shouldn't....
• We met up with Mom in Chehalis and went for a bike ride

Third Row:

• My cousin, Alex, and her daughter Hazel were in town. It was great catching up!
• Aunt Emily came for a weekend of fun! She was a good sport hanging out with us at a family BBQ, going on a walk, and helping us with some yard work.
• We got a grill! I set it on fire and almost burned our house down about a week into having it, but besides that, it's been fantastic to have around!

April 2018

First Row:

• Phoebe takes after her dad...she loves watermelon!
• Phoebe FINALLY learned to take a bottle (and mom is very happy!)
• Phoebe loves to stand at and play with the learning table.
• Aunt Jessica came home from her mission in California and met Phoebe for the first time.

Second Row:

• Jon and I ran away for a weekend and went clamming for the first time with our friends, the Grays and Ballejos'.
• Phoebe and I went on several bike rides...one with Carlene Gray and one with my mom.
• Phoebe likes swinging in the swings.
• Jon attempts to dress Phoebe and puts her clothes on backwards.

Third Row:

• Phoebe and I met up at the park with a bunch of wonderful girls from church. The kids played on the playground while we played cornhole.
• Jon had us dress up and take redneck photos for one of our FHE activities....Phoebe wasn't sure she liked it...
• The weather started getting nicer and we played outside (yay for having a backyard!)
• I BEAT JON AT BOWLING! I was very humble about my triumph. 

Fourth Row:

• Phoebe has decided that shopping carts were made backwards because she can't see where she's going.
• Phoebe was intrigued by my family's dog, Hickley, one stay there. "Da! Da, da, da!" (translation: Dog! Bark, bark, bark!) is her first "word."
• Phoebe has her first sucker (and a lot of other "first" in the junk food category)...she thinks sugar is pretty tasty.
• We went to my sister-in-law, Laura's, place for Easter to watch the last session of General Conference and have Easter dinner.

March 2018

Our biggest adventure was obviously Phoebe's surgery, but we had fun doing many other things too!

First Row

• We hiked Pinnacle Peak in Enunclaw as a family.
• Phoebe and I snuk along with Jon to an Elder's Quorum activity and Phoebe went bowling for the first time (she has room for improvement).
• We met up with some friends and Phoebe "played" at the park for the first time.
• Jon had a birthday, which we got to celebrate the following week with Laura and Austin's family, along with Chase, who happened to be in town.

Second Row

• We went out lots of times with the sister missionaries serving in our ward, Sis. Lee and Sis. Darling. They are awesome!
• We went to the temple and walked around as a family the day before Phoebe's surgery.
• Phoebe started riding in the shopping cart and loves it.
• We had green cinnamon rolls for St. Patrick's Day.

Third Row

• My family came into town St. Patrick's Day weekend to have fun and help around the house. Kate grew Easter bunny ears while we were at Target.
• Phoebe has decided that she's too cool for the changing table. In fact, she's too cool for changing in general and often tries to run away mid-change.
• We started painting the inside of our house. It took me seven samples of paint (only one of which we ended up using) and a lot of prayers to pick the colors, but I'm really happy with what we've done so far! We've only done the bedroom, so there's more fun to come...
• Jon's family sent an Easter package to us, full of yummy treats and this cute duck for Phoebe!

Fourth Row

• Phoebe and I went to watch our friend, Raquel, coach a lacrosse game. Our friends, Cassy, McKenley, Lindsi, and Lukas came along!
• We went with our friend, Loree, and got burgers and fries at Pick Quick. Phoebe liked the french fries.
• Phoebe practiced wearing headbands. If it stays on her head, this photo is usually as good as it gets.
• Phoebe took her first ride in the bike trailer I got from my mom for my birthday. It was fun!

Phoebe's Surgery

Phoebe has a new look! On March 13th, she went in to have her cleft lip repaired. As I already said, it was a bittersweet day for Jon and I, but overall we are so happy and know that Phoebe is still our same wonderful Phoebe.

The most stressful part of the day was getting to the hospital in time. We left for Seattle Children's Hospital at 5:10 am to get there for Phoebe's 6:30 check-in. When I checked the googlemap on my phone twenty minutes into our drive and it said that, due to a crash, the drive would take 2 hours and 40 minutes, we got a little anxious. But we said a prayer and ended up only being five minutes late.

Phoebe was her normal social butterfly self as we got checked in and met with all the nurses and doctors. I was calm until they took her away...she didn't cry, but I did! But after calming down, Jon and I went out into the main areas in the hospital and waited to see how things turned out.

The nurse in surgery paged us at 10:45 to let us know that everything in surgery was going as planned, and at 11:45 they paged us to let us know that they were done and our doctor was coming out to meet with us. He did, telling us that everything went smoothly, and we expressed our gratitude to him. Shortly afterwards, I went back to the recovery room to feed Phoebe--which they try to do right away to encourage the baby to find comfort in eating rather than in heavy pain medicine--and by one o'clock we went up to join Jon in our hospital room.

You could tell that Phoebe wasn't feeling so well that day. Normally, she wants to see everything and she's never been one for snuggling. That day, however, all she wanted was to be held in my arms, resting her head on my shoulder. She didn't really want anyone but me to hold her, but Dad did a fantastic job at getting her to smile and laugh. Miraculously, the only pain medicine they had her take were Tylenol and ibuprofen, which seemed to get the job done.

The next morning, our old Phoebe was already returning to us. She seemed to be saying: "Get me out of this small hospital room! Let me crawl around! I want to see everyone and do everything!" No more head on the shoulder, and sitting around was boring. Luckily, by this point she was no longer attached to any monitors, so while we waited for things to wrap up, Jon and I walked the halls with her. She loved seeing the murals on the walls and saying hi to the nurses.

We were in the car and on our way by 10:30 that morning! Everyone was more tired than usual, but happy and well.

That was two weeks ago, and Phoebe is healing beautifully! She wasn't taking any medicine by the Saturday after the surgery, and the swelling died down within the first week. Two days ago she got the stents that were placed to help shape her nose removed and the doctors said everything looks fantastic. Phoebe's scar still needs to form a bit more and there's some things they've asked us to do to help with that--like applying gel and doing gentle massages. We'll also be checking in with the hospital about once a year, just to make sure things are going okay and to keep an eye on some things.

We are grateful for all the kind words, thoughts, prayers, and fasts offered on our family's behalf at this time. We have amazing family and friends and were blessed to associate with amazing medical personal throughout this whole adventure (Seattle Children's is fantastic!). And of course, we are blessed to have our wonderful, beautiful Phoebe!

Seattle Children's Hospital

One of the biggest blessings through the adventure of repairing Phoebe's cleft lip was being able to work with Seattle Children's Hospital. I cannot say enough good about them. They have the friendliest receptionists--both over the phone and in person--that I have ever worked with and their medical personnel is top notch. I felt like people actually listened to me when I expressed questions and concerns and that they actually wanted to help me and my daughter. Above all, I can see in the eyes of the nurses and doctors that work there that they are passionate about their work not just because they enjoy the job, but because they care about the patients they work with. 

In a nutshell--this hospital is just full of genuinely good and caring people. Their goodness, paired with the goodness of their line of work, makes it a place where the veil between this world and the next is thin. Phoebe is a lucky girl to have been taken care of at such a special place.

Here's some snapshots of the people we worked with (click on their names):

Our Plastic Surgeon: Raymond W. Tse, MD

Our Pediatrician at Seattle Children's: Emily R. Gallagher, MD, MP

Family Photos

A friend of ours took some family photos for us before Phoebe had her surgery and we're so happy with how they turned out! Now I just have to take the initiative to make sure they end up on our walls...

"You-Isms"

I've said it before--we are more than a little torn that Phoebe will be losing her cleft lip this Tuesday. Yes, come school time it won't be exactly "cool" to be walking around with a cleft, but we've grown very fond of it over the past eight months and part of us is sad to see it go. Things like seeing her projectile food out of that gap in her lip line are rather enduring.

I think that Heavenly Father feels the same way about us and our quirks and imperfections. While His ultimate goal is to help us become perfect, I think that in the meantime, these imperfections make Him smile. I'm not talking about our sins--God is sorrowful when we choose to break His commandments. What I'm talking about are those little tendencies and trademarks that make all of us each a you. Those little "you-isms"--those things make Him smile.

Things like having a cow lick on the front edge of your hairline or talking too fast when you get nervous. Things like being so clumsy you've considered walking around wearing bubble tape or being so tone deaf that you sound worse than nails on a chalkboard. Things like being such a bad cook, you can't even get rice down, or that the Pintrest projects you attempt look more fitted for a kindergarten classroom than a Martha Stewart magazine--all of these things, all of these innocent little imperfections, make Him smile.

So while we hope that these things which make us less than perfect will go away someday, let us not be too hard on ourselves while we live with them in mortality. Just like Phoebe's little cleft lip makes Jon and me smile, each of our "you-isms" make God smile, and with how things in the world are going, He needs something to smile about.

February 2018

Here's a bit of what we were up to in February...

First Row:

• We got together twice with our friend, Cassy, for lunch.
• We hiked Tiger Mountain with my friend, Erika. Phoebe did great the first 5 miles, but protested the last two...
• Jon and I went mountain biking at Swan Creek. It was the first time I've gone in a year and a half and I LOVED it! Plus, the bike Jon got me for my birthday is awesome!

Second Row:

• The family went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the BYU v. Gonzaga basketball game. BYU lost unfortunately, but the food was good and Phoebe loved it (all those TVs and noise, you know?)
• Jon took a day off work and my family came to watch Phoebe so that he and I could go skiing. I learned that I appreciate skiing more than snowboarding, though I still pretty much fell down the mountain the whole way.
• While my parents and Kate were in town to watch Phoebe, Kate got creative and invented the "Swami." #mysisteriscoolerthanyours

Third Row:

• While in town, my dad helped us do a lot around the house. For example, he hung this beautiful shelf he made me for Christmas. He also helped us fix our kitchen light (it needed more than a new light bulb), hang a shelf in Phoebe's room, and hang a plate in our kitchen. Yay for handy/awesome dads!
• Phoebe and I met up our friends--Lui and her daughter, Suri--at a yummy Asian bakery. I love Lui and Suri...we happened to meet each other at a library baby storytime, and since then have become really good friends. Yay for yummy treats and awesome friends!
• It snowed in Tacoma! For a whole week! We almost didn't know what to do with ourselves.

And then because I can't help but make a collage of Phoebe pictures...

Phoebe’s Surgery

It’s almost time to say goodbye to that perfectly imperfect little smile! Phoebe’s surgery to fix her cleft lip is scheduled for Tuesday, March 13th at Seattle Children’s Hospital. The doctors tell us that the surgery will be about 3 hours long, we’ll stay the night, and then go home the next day. They also said that Phoebe should be able to eat as she always has afterwards (which is pretty amazing!) She’s a pretty stubborn and resilient girl, so we think she’ll bounce back from the procedure fairly quickly. 

As far as the financial side of everything goes, we were blessed to find out that we qualify for 100% coverage, which means that anything our insurance doesn’t pay for will be paid for through the hospital’s financial aid program. This is a tremendous blessing and we cannot express enough thanks to all the individuals who donate to hospitals like Seattle Children’s who have made this possible.

We will keep you updated on how the surgery goes when it happens, but in the meantime, if any of our Mormon friends are looking for something to fast for this coming fast Sunday, we’d greatly appreciate you keeping Phoebe in mind! We have faith that her surgery will goes according to plan, but we also believe in the power of fasting and prayer and know that the more people we have petitioning to God for her, the better off she’ll be. 

Stay tuned!

January 2018

Here's our January in pictures...

First Row:
1. Phoebe getting all warm for a run.
2. We went out to Red Robin for my birthday.
3. Phoebe is adorable...
4. ...And spits out her food when she decides she doesn't like how it tastes (cleft lips are very handy for this!)

Second Row:
1. Once again, Phoebe is adorable
2. Phoebe loves to play with toys (as long as you are there with her!)
3. She continues to chew on just about everything you hand her
4. She loves to bounce around in the jumperoo that my sister-in-law, Laura, is letting us borrow.

Third Row:
1. Phoebe makes a MESS when eating. Especially if she's tired and she rubs her food-covered hand all over her face.
2. Yup--still adorable!
3. Phoebe and I went down to Vancouver to see my sister, Kate, in a short skit she helped put on
4. Phoebe is officially sitting in the stroller forward facing (instead of sitting in the car seat with the stroller adapter)

Fourth Row:
1. We start off most morning by doing a bit of reading, including reading Winnie the Pooh!
2. Phoebe all ready for church
3. My birthday present from Jon...a new mountain bike!
4. And of course, still adorable.

What He Sees In Me

Sometimes I find myself wondering: "Do I believe in Christ?"

The answer is always a resounding "Yes." Then I realize that the real question on my mind is: "Do I believe in myself?"

Christ is pure and powerful and perfect. He has healed and forgiven and blessed people throughout all history, in all books of scripture, and even in our world today. I, on the other hand, have quite the different track record. I stumble. I fall. I mess up. I make mistakes. I sin.

When I start thinking these things, I remind myself of a quote that got me through a rough patch in my life. It goes:

"Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will.We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming." (Joseph B. Wirthlin)

This beautiful statement gives me hope. God is perfect and sees me perfectly, and even despite all my flaws, He still loves me and will never give up on me. So when what I see in myself doesn't seem like enough to believe in, I decide to believe in what He sees instead, and that is enough.

Phoebe Month Six

This month, Phoebe...

• ...Ate her first veggie and fruit solids. She hates peas, doesn't mind green beans, and loves fruit. At first, she just took what she didn't like with a sour face. Now, she utilizes her cleft to spit distasteful foods out.
• ...Had her first Christmas! She got books and bibs and clothes and a few toys.
• ...Met Aunt Jessica "in person" over Skype.
• ...Can sit up all by herself without any help.
• ...Is becoming much more aware. She's learning what she wants, and when she wants it, SHE WANTS IT! She can't say any real words, but the closest is "Nah! Nah! Nah!" when she doesn't want something. (Great--her first word is going to be "No.")
• ...Learned she has a tongue and made us laugh for a week by sticking it out at us.
• ...Started riding in the stroller forward facing without the car seat adapter. 
• ...Got the surgery for her cleft scheduled. It's going to be on Tuesday, March 13th. 

I love taking the time to put together these photo collages because it forces me to slow down and really think about Phoebe as a person. Sometimes in the route monotony of daily living, taking care of Phoebe can feel like a to-do task. But when I slow down and think about her like today, I feel immensely grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed us with such a sweet little girl. For the most part, she's very happy, ready to giggle, wanting to see the world, excited to meet new people, and loving her mommy and daddy. Sometimes I have to remind myself that baby Phoebe isn't going to stay baby for forever, so I better soak it up while I can. 

Happy Birthday to Me!

I have a daily quote book I'm reading this year and yesterday's quote was from Mark Twain, and goes: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” I find it serendipitous that the first of the two days mentioned in this quote--"the day you are born"--happens to have been that same day for me. Yesterday was my birthday! But what made me stop and think was the second half of the quote--"the day you find out why" part.

I feel grateful that as of yesterday, I've lived 26 full and wonderful years of not having to stress over and wonder about and find out why I was born because I've always known. I born into a home where the gospel of Jesus Christ was taught, and as such, I've always known my purpose here on earth.

That purpose stems from the knowledge that I am a daughter of God. I know that He sent me here to learn and experience for myself the bad from the good, to gain a body, to prove what I'm made of, and to return to Him because I love Him. I am grateful for the energy and purpose this knowledge gives me.

If you are reading this, that probably means you know me and I consider you a friend. If there's one thing I could give all my friends after all they've given me, it's a knowledge of these things that I've just talked about. If you don't know what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches about our purpose here on earth, I invite you to find out why by checking out Mormon.org. If what you read peaks your interest, you can find out more by talking to someone in person. If not, no harm done!

Thank you to everyone for making the past 26 years fabulous! Besides the lack of brain power I'm already experiencing (just ask my husband about the key fiasco that happened yesterday at church!), I'm really looking forward to being one year older and wiser too.