Liane

Where does the time go? I look back at the pictures from when Liane was born and I almost forget that she was that little and helpless once. Liane has grown and changed so much since birth, but some things have remained the same as well... Since birth Liane is still...

*So alert! She has ALWAYS been very aware of what is going on around her and watches intensly.
*Not much of a napper :-( Over the years she has gotten better (she can now sleep up to 2 hours during nap time!! Woo Hoo!!)
*A picky eater... again, she is getting better, but eating is never like the main event of her day like it is for mommy :-)
*A snuggle-bug (which makes mommy happy!!)
*A LOVER of books and being read to!
*A fan of things happening on HER terms ( I dont blame her :-)
*An amazing mommy to her baby dolls!
*A mommys girl all the way!!


All about Liane...

*Great communicator!! Liane has been talking since before she turned 1 and hasnt stopped. She can speak in short sentences and we have never had a problem understanding her. It has been wonderful! Just today she said "One, two, buckle my shoe"

*Loves music, singing and dancing!! She requests songs she likes me to sing to her... some of her favorite songs are "Spider" (itsy bitsy), "Popcorn Popping", Bumble Bee" (im bringing home a baby bumble bee), "God" ( I am a child of God), "Temple" ( I love to see the temple), "ABC", and "Rock-a-bye" (rock a bye baby)

* She has to help with everything! Anything I do, she wants to do and she is great at it!! Mommys little helper she is!

*Has an AMAZING memory!! You tell her something one time or teach her the name of something or someone and she has got it for life! She knows the names of everyone in our family and can group them into the correct family, all of her friends names and their siblings names, and all of her favorite TV show characters. She remembers whos house is whos also (family and friends).

*Knows the colors blue, white, brown, green, orange, yellow, pink, purple. Knows the shapes circle, square, triangle, star, heart, moon (cresant).

*Loves burgers, pickles (and when she eats one she says "thats my girl" like I always say to her since I love pickles too!), fries, pretzles, chicken, bread, cheese, and chocolate (when she is cranky and I ask her, "Liane what do you need?" when all that I have suggested doesnt work, she responds with "I need chocolate"... ha ha ha... oh boy when she starts PMSing we are in trouble!!)

*Liane is a sweet girl... never has hurt anyone, yelled at any friends, or taken something out of a friends hand. She is content to play by herself or near other kids and does not react much when a child takes something away from her - even if she really wants it.

*LOVES to play with dolls!! She is an amazing "mom"! She holds them so tenderly and is so sweet with them. She loves to wrap them in a blanket, hold them tight and say "shh, shh, shh" as she rocks them. She can play forever with her babies by herself. She will make a wonderful big sister and mommy one day!

I love Liane with all my heart. She is truly a special girl and I am so blessed to be her mommy!! Im so grateful to be a stay at home mom, to spend all day with her, to teach her, snuggle with her, and just love her!! She is wonderful and I could not ask for a better daughter!! Happy Birthday to my "big girl!!"

Liane's Family Party

Liane had two birthday parties in one day!! She had a friend party in the morning and a family party in the afternoon (after NAP!!). She (and we all ) had a wonderful time in celebration of this beautiful, sweet, smart, funny, and good little girl!! She deserved to be spoiled!!

Liane's friend birthday party

Liane's friend party was in the morning. She loves the movie "Abby in Wonderland" (Alice in Wonderland Sesame Street style). We turned our backyard into "wonderland" and the kids had a blast playing games and enjoying a little "tea party" afterwards. The tea party consisted of Liane's favorite meal... burgers, fries and pickles... mini style. So cute!! And of course mini cupcakes!! It was wonderful to see how many friends came and showed their love and excitement for Liane's big day!! Thank you all!!

Lake Tahoe Vacation!!

We LOVE Lake Tahoe!! Tahoe was our family vacation spot as a kid growing up and its been a blessing to be able to make it our "Cano" family vacation spot now too! We spent our time at Zephyr Cove, Ski Run Marina, Camp Richardson, and Angora Lake. All of it beautiful, weather perfect and not crowded at all (go the end of August when everyone else is in school!!) Looking forward to going back again sometime soon.

Depeche Mode Concert

For Salomon's birthday back in April, I and my family got Salomon tickets to the Depeche Mode concert here in UT on August 25. Salomon had never been to any concert and out of his top 5 concerts he'd like to see in his life, Depeche Mode was one of them. I couldnt pass up the chance to take him! The concert came at a great time for us... we have been dealing with many of lifes stresses and getting out - just the two of us- to do something so out of the norm was perfect for us. We had a blast and watching Salomon totally enjoy seeing them in person was a great moment for me!!

Salomon's First Marathon

My husband ROCKS! He trained hard for his first marathon in Park City UT that was held the 22nd of August. One never does know how the first marathon is going to go (I mean it IS 26.2 miles!!), and with the altitude, the steady uphill climb for 8 miles, but maybe more importantly, the dehydration he experienced, he was not able to complete the full marathon, but did finish 16 of the toughest miles of his life! He is amazing and handled the disappointment very well! He is currently training for the Tri State Marathon in Mesquite NV this Nov. We are super excited for him!!

Chelsea's 1st Birthday Party

Tonight we went to a 1st birthday party for Chelsea, my best friend Melissa's little girl. Chelsea is a doll and it was so fun to be there to celebrate her special day. Liane, and all the kids, had a blast playing at the park and feeding the ducks. Yummy food, great company. Happy Birthday Chelsea!!

Daybreak/Lilly's Birthday

We went to Daybreak (a city near South Jordan Utah) for my sister-in-laws birthday this weekend. Yummy food and great weather... cant complain! Way fun "slide" next to the real slide - this one is WAY more fun!
Playing in the little lake

The family

Summer Fun Updates

Here is what has been going on this summer for us... busy, but good times!! Liane's first birthday party of a friend... so fun! Gotta love a princess party!!
Liane's first baseball game... we spent most of the time at the fun booths set up for "Kids Safety Night"

Dinosaur Museum was way fun and Liane loved it!

Look at those cotton candy queens go!! Fun day!

We love the pool! Liane was very brave and spent most of the time with the water up to her neck.

Mammograms and Biopsy

Just to warn you, this post is personal, but I thought that sharing my story may help someone else by bringing this subject to light.

These past few weeks have been interesting for me to say the least. I have a strong family history of breast cancer in my family... my maternal Grandmother died from it at age 41 ( I think that was her age), and one of my cousins (again, maternal side) was diagnosed with it as well in her 30's of which thankfully she has overcome! So growing up I knew that when the time came, I would need to make sure I was on top of it. My mom has been so good about reminding me and encouraging me to get a breast cancer screening. For a while I could not because I was nursing Liane (um ya imagine how a mammogram would go!), and lately we have been trying for baby number two. The blessing of not being pregnant as of yet is that I was finally able and ready to get the screening done. Well back in July I had my yearly exam and during which I talked to my doctor about the possibility of her ordering a screening for me. We talked of my strong family history (normally one wouldnt get screened until age 35 if there is a family history and if not, would not get a screening until age 40), and decided that it would be smart to start this process now.

I went in a few weeks ago for my first mammogram and the results came back that I had some calcifications in my right breast that could be early signs of cancer and the radiologist wanted me to come back for some more scans. This news was a little scary for me as you might imagine, but Salomon gave me a blessing and I was filled with peace. I felt that no matter what the outcome, I would be ok. I knew that if it was cancer, that I caught it early and I was young and I would do whatever to fight for my health. So a couple days after that I went in for another mammogram and indeed there were calcifications, but the radiologist and doctor could not tell 100% if they were benign and given my history they did not want to have me wait the usual 6 months to see if anything had changed, so they recommended a stereotactic biopsy.

Here are details on what this is...

" This is a simple procedure that uses advanced digital mammography. It removes tiny cores of tissue from the mass or calcifications..." The technologist will position you on your abdomen on a special table. Your breast will be gently placed through an opening, and you will be made as comfortable as possible. Your breast will be compressed; xrays will be taken to verify the location of the lesion. If the position is not quite right, you will be repositioned to ensure accuracy. After the Radiologist reviews these films, he/she will use the computer to locate the precise area of your breast tissue to be biopsied. He/she will then numb the breast tissue with lidocaine. A small incision will be made through which the biopsy needle will be inserted. Once inserted, 6-15 small cores of tissue will be removed and sent to pathology for a diagnosis. A small metallic clip is placed as a marker at the biopsy site."

It may sound bad and painful, but really it was one of the easiest things to do. I did feel like a car at Jiffy Lube though - being on a table that was lifted into the air so the radiologist could work under me... lol too funny, but hey - whatever works! The recovery was just about painless as well, just a mild ache at the biopsy site. Results are given within 48 hours and thankfully my results were that the calcifications were benign - NO CANCER!!!!

I feel so blessed to be in good health and be spared from cancer. I will continue to be proactive on my health and will continue to get routine screenings to make sure nothing has changed. The wonderful part of this as well, is that my insurance covered the screening and diagnostic mammograms 100%!! Im still waiting to see about the biopsy. No matter what, it was worth every little bit of what I have gone through these past few weeks. I am grateful for my life, my health, my mom who nagged me to get this done :-), and everyones thoughts and prayers on my behalf. Im blessed to be a happy, healthy wife, mom, daughter, and friend. Oh and you better believe that I am going to be a "nagging mom" too when it comes to my daughter being on top of her health!!

I feel strongly that we as women, especially, need to take care of ourselves - our bodies! Getting a mammogram early can SAVE YOUR LIFE... I cannot stress that enough! It certainly does not have to be done as early as I did (Im 32), but once the time in your life does come - and it will- for you to get routine mammograms, DO IT!! Dont wait, dont hesitate... it could save your life.