EGG . . . ZACTLY

Last night Megan, Julie and I were in the kitchen doing some cooking and Carly wandered in. I opened the refrigerator door to grab something off the top shelf and didn't notice Carly had gotten into the bottom. A few seconds later I heard Megan gasp and then start laughing. I turned around to look and Carly had made it a few feet from the refrigerator and then tripped and fallen flat with an egg in her hand. The egg had cracked and was smushed all over the floor and Carly had the most confused look on her face.

She has had this intrigue with eggs now for months. The egg basket in our fridge is on the very bottom of the door and to Carly, I know, all these little white eggs look like little white balls. For a long time she tried to grab them every time we opened the door so we started keeping the eggs in their cartons up higher so we didn't have the problem. But when the holidays came and we started putting more food in the fridge I put them back at the bottom and I didn't realize she had noticed them. Oh well, guess I have egg on my . . .
FLOOR.

MY LITTLE GIRL IS GROWING UP

Carly's hair is finally long enough that we can put it up in a couple of small ponytails or "puffs" as they are called. We have been doing this hairdo on her for almost a week now and I can't believe the difference it makes in how old she looks to me. It changes her from a baby to a little girl. I kind of want to put her little 'fro back in and tie a bow around her hair. It's kind of hard to have her grow up so quickly--although she is awfully darn cute!

CARLY'S CONVERSATION

We took one of our Christmas trees down today--the one we put our wooden toy soldiers in front of and all the presents under. When Carly went down for a nap the tree was still up and when she woke up it had been taken down. All that was left in the spot where it had been were the six toy soldiers our friend Joyce had made to represent each child in our family. Although, she didn't seem to notice them.

Carly said, "Mom, tree, gone." I said, "Yes, we took it down and put it away." She seemed to accept that and I didn't think anymore about it for awhile. Later I was in the kitchen doing something and I heard her talking to someone in the living room--I mean talking like she was actually having a conversation. I turned around to look and she was having her own little conversation with the toy soldiers. I almost laughed outloud. I probably would have except I didn't want to interrupt the conversation or embarrass her. Now, mind you, I couldn't understand what they were talking about. Lol! I have a such an adorable and interesting child!

MY DAILY MUSINGS

Julie is still out of school for Christmas break and I'm glad. It gives me some help to get things back in order from the holiday rigamarole. She and I cleaned and sorted and put things away today. We took out the trash and wow, do we make a lot of trash! We cut up all the boxes we got things in for Christmas so we could fit them in the trash. We were busy beavers and still we didn't get everything done. We still have the tree up--well, both of them actually. We had planned to take one of them down and leave the other up until New Year's but didn't even manage to get one down. Guess that happens when you have a munchkin or two running around--not geting your list of things done, that is.

Grandma managed to make it out to exchange a few things today and even do a little shopping. I think she got her fill of standing in lines, though. She was pretty worn out when she got home. I refuse to stand in lines. If I have to exchange anything I wait until a few weeks after the holiday when no one cares anymore and the lines are gone. They would pretty much have to be bread lines to get me to stand in them. There's nothing I want that bad (at least that I can think of at the moment :}.

I didn't even leave the house until almost 8:00 p.m. and it was probably a good thing. It was only 10 degrees outside. I just had a quick errand and I was glad to get back inside where it was warm. I sound terribly boring tonight.

Jonathon and I are both leaning against pillows having a staring contest to see who falls asleep first. I think I need to let him win this one. Darn.

Night. :}

VISITING DAY

Went to visit Rob's parents today. They are about an hour away from us. We took them their Christmas. Carly is trying to assimilate in her mind what it means to have two Grandma's and two Grandpa's. It was the first time she really thought about it today I think. She's really becoming verbal and she had to stop and think before she called Rob's mom Grandma because she's been calling my mom Grandma. She just looked at her for a long time and we were encouraging her to call her Grandma but she just stared at her. She's done it before. Finally, I explained to her by saying each Grandma and Grandpa's names with their last name attached and she finally got it. Then she just called her Grandma. It was kind of neat to watch her brain work on it.

Dad stayed downstairs again today but he did get up and walk around so I think he is doing a bit better. I think we will be able to get him into the doctor tomorrow. I know we are all exausted from the rush of the holidays. Maybe that is some of it for him, too.

Sara left to go back to her college town today. Carly was not happy about that. Sara has definitely been the flavor of the week. Carly has loved walking around saying Sara's name over and over and over and over! Plus, she loved having her here. She cried any time Sara left the house. Hopefully she will be back to visit in February.

Julie has another week off of school. Rob and Megan are jealous because they have to go back to work tomorrow. Well, that's about all the news for today. Love ya, :)

DUM ME

It's almost midnight and Rob just looked at me and said, "Done your blog yet?" Oops! I am just mindlessly surfing the web when I should be sleeping. I am so tired and yet, I can't seem to fall asleep but I had honestly forgotten to blog. Silly girl!

Grandpa hasn't been getting around very well the last couple of days. His good leg (which is his bad leg) has been giving him trouble. He's been having some muscle spasms in it and some weakness. Hopefully, he just needs some physical therapy on it and it will be temporary.

I spent a good part of the day writing Christmas cards. Yes, that's what I said. I am slow but sure. I don't get very many out and the ones I do usually get there in the new year. Aren't I cute? Generally the people who send me cards are the ones who get them back. I try to be more proactive than that but it just never works out. (Did I just say I was lazy or busy? hmmm.)

Well, better get some sleep before time for church. Night.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Silly me, I didn't take any pictures today. We had the video camera running so I didn't take any stills. Just lazy I guess. We had a happy day. Carly was funny opening presents. She would open one and the want to just open and play with that one. It took some convincing to get her to move to the next present. Finally, the other girls had to finish opening her packages for her. She had no interest in them until she saw what was in them. Kind of crazy.

Sara, Megan and Julie enjoyed themselves too. Jonathon was the only observer. He seemed fine with that, though. Next year he will probably be a bit more interested. My parents seemed to have a good day, too. Rob's brother Steve came over with his kids and had their Christmas with us, too.Rob and I had fun watching everyone open their presents and enjoy each other. It's been a great day. Now, time for beddy bye. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

PICTURES FROM GRANDMA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

She was so surprised! It was really fun.

SURPRISE GRANDMA!

My Dad pulled a good one on my Mom today. He surprised her for her birthday which is December 24th. (Maybe the biggest surprise is that he planned something way in advance for her birthday!) Ummmm, don't tell him I said that. Actually, I think most men are that way. For several weeks he has connived and planned with each of us girls to arrange a surprise birthday party. He wanted to have a luncheon with all of her kids and grandkids in the same place for her big day. We managed to pull it off today sans one kid who had a mandatory athletic practice and the best part was Grandma was truly surprised. It probably helped that we did it the day before her actual birthday. It was great to see her face when she saw everyone there. Especially, when she didn't think Sarah and her family were even in the state. Yah, it was pretty great. Happy day!

Oh, by the way Mom. Happy Birthday. I love you, Nancy

GREAT, STUPENDOUS NEWS!

Dad had a test at the cardiologist today. This doctor has been working with him on some things and the test showed tons of improvement! His heart is a lot stronger AND they OK'd him for his knee surgery in February! Yay! Thanks for all the prayers you have sent our way. Please keep them coming. We need all the help we can get!

CAKE MONSTER

I went to Sam's Club today to order Grandma's birthday cake. I had Carly with me and she was sitting in the cart while I was writing out the order for the cake. Trouble is she was sitting right next to the display of cakes that were for sale. I didn't think much about it at the time. While I was writing out the order she was doing her usual chattering to which I respond without doing a lot of thinking, i.e., "Cakes mommy!", "Yes, Pretty aren't they?" Well, I finished the order and turned it in and then turned and started pushing the cart away from the cake area. Holy Toledo! My 22 month old popped a cork! "NO MOMMY! CAKE! GET A CAKE!

I tried to explain to her that we had just ordered one and would pick it up in a few days . . . but it sounded like this to her 22 month old ears: "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, NO CAKE FOR YOU! YOU CAN NEVER HAVE CAKE AGAIN! BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!" In other words she threw a screaming mimi tantrum and the only words I could understand were "need", "get" and "cake". It took a few minutes but once I got her out of the cake section and got her mind on other things she calmed down. It occurs to me that I think I've created a sugar monster--at the very least a cake monster. I'm in trouble. :}

WEEKEND UPDATE

Rob and I spent Saturday trying to finish up the Christmas shopping. Think we got most of it done.

Went to the viewing of one of my friend's fathers tonight who died really suddenly. He was only 67 and was apparently really athletic and healthy right up until he had this fatal heart attack. I guess you just never know when it's going to be your time. We had a really nice visit with my friend and her husband and got to meet their three boys for the first time. They are really cute.

We took Carly and Julie with us and they were pretty impressed with our beautiful girls. Bubby had to stay home with Grandma and Grandpa since his immune system is still so at risk. Not to mention he is still sick right now--so I don't want him to give anyone else the crud he has either.

Took Carly to see her first Christmas lights on the way home. She was so cute. She kept saying, "Awesome" over and over.

Saw on one of my cousin's status last night on Facebook that another of my cousin's--Lana, is in the hospital with gall bladder problems. Apparently, her sugar level is pretty high, too because of the gall bladder so they are trying to stabilize the sugar level before they handle the gall bladder. They still think they will have her home by Christmas. Prayers would be much appreciated.

Well, that's all for now folks. Take care.

BREAKFAST WITH CARLY

I was in the kitchen doing something this morning when my little munchkin ran in and said, "Mommy, I need cake!" I couldn't decide whether to be excited that she had just said a brand new sentence very clearly and actually new what it meant or be concerned that my 22 month old wanted (excuse me "needed") chocolate cake for breakfast.

Oh, who am I kidding--my Dad taught me to eat chocolate cake for breakfast like it was cereal. By that, I mean pouring milk over it in a bowl and eating it with a spoon. So, Carly and I sat down and had a bowl of chocolate cake cereal together. After all, she needed it!

GOOD DAY ~ FRIDAY

Today was a really good day. We had a great appointment with the cardiologist. We really liked him a lot and things look pretty good. He ordered some tests to determine if things look good enough to go ahead with Dad's knee surgery scheduled for February. We should know what that looks like soon but it does seem hopeful.

Rob and I took Jonathon to visit some friends who hadn't met him yet tonight. That was fun. Unfortunately, there are lots of our friends and even family members who haven't met him yet. His preemie immune system causes us to be careful about taking him into crowds and places where there are other small children who may have coughs or colds. One day he will get to meet everybody. In the meantime, we will take lots of pictures and post them. Um, but not tonight. This mom's only had 2 1/2 hours of sleep today since he didn't let me go to sleep until almost 4 a.m--Maybe tomorrow. :}

WE'RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD

Today (it's still Thursday to me even though it's 3:45 a.m. because I haven't finished this blog yet)has been a long day and I'd like to say I got a lot done but I can't remember what I did before noon. That could be a product of sleep deprivation and not just old age speaking, couldn't it? Seriously, couldn't it?

Everyday I get up with a list of things that have to be done. Cleaning the house is always on it. At least straightening it and putting things away--I'll settle for that. No, scratch that--something else just got priority. Probably a naked toddler running through the house with something breakable. OK, what's next on the list. Does it matter. Something else I wasn't planning on will take it's place. What happened to my 80/20 rule. I think they call it being a mom to a toddler and a baby at the same time. Do you think I will ever figure it out and get organized? I sure hope so!

Oh, so look at that. I did it again. Got off my list and my topic. We are off to see one of Dad's doctor's today (I'm almost done so this today is for Friday). This is an important one. Keep us in your prayers. He doesn't need a new heart--just a good one. Well--he already has a really good one--but you know what I mean. Wizard, here we come!

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN! THE LEERS HAVE BROUGHT US CHEER AGAIN!

Jonathon was so happy when the mail came today he wet his diaper! Or was that me? I can't remember. Lol! We are so happy and excited at our house!

You might remember a month or so ago when I posted a picture of Jonathon with a bunch of adorable wooden soldiers with a caption that said "What's wrong with this picture?" Well, of course Jonathon was really sad in the picture because there was a wooden soldier for all of the girls in the family but not one for him. He had found them all and felt really bad because he couldn't find his. (You can roll your eyes at me here and say "Crazy Mama!)

Anyway, these wooden soldiers are precious collector's items because they were made by a wonderful, whimsical artist named Joyce who has been a friend of our family since long before I was born. She always made my childhood holidays magical by painting the windows of all the stores downtown with glorious holiday scenes. It was the most fun place to go--so full of life and wonder! She is simply amazing and has talent that flows from every pore. This time, though, she pulled off a Christmas miracle because I found out after I asked her (see: emotionally coerced)if she could make one for Jonathon that she had retired and thrown out all of her patterns and paints. (J & L -- I owe you BIG! See: HUGE, XXXL, EL GRANDE.)

I just want everyone to see how much Jonathon loved his wooden soldier. He was so happy when we opened it he started dancing and singing! Too bad we didn't get it on the camcorder! Darn! Here are some stills, though!




See how big I am now?



Sweet Joyce did not leave Carly out. How thoughtful! Thank you! Carly loves her Raggedy Ann!

She is a little camera shy these days. When she gets embarrassed she closes her eyes and thinks we can't see her anymore. Hmmm. Maybe she's right--too bad the camera still can, Miss Raggedy, Raggedy, Raggedy Carly!



Thank you, thank you, thank you! We love you!

HAVE YOU SEEN THESE PEOPLE?

We have and we think they are cuter than spotted pups! If you are missing them feel free to give them a hollar! Happy Hollar-Days!

A NOT SO GOOD, YUCKY DAY

Wow, today has been no fun at all and that means starting today from midnight on. Jonathon or Jon-uh-non as Carly calls him has been one miserable little boy. He has been coughing and weezing and really having labored breathing. I think I slept an hour while he was asleep on my chest. Rob didn't sleep at all. We gave him breathing treatments and everything and nothing seemed to make it better. This morning we finally took him to the ER since we know our doctors would just tell us to give him breathing treatments or send us to the ER. We spent most of the day there with them giving him X-rays and breathing treatments, suctioning out his nose, sending off tests, etc. It looked for awhile like they might keep him overnight but his chest X-rays came back clear so they let us bring him home. There is still a possibility he could have a viral pneumonia that the X-rays don't pick up but the tests they sent off should tell us whether he has anything serious going on or not. Luckily, he was doing better enough that we have him at home. I will keep you posted on how things go.

LOOK WHAT SANTA LEFT UNDER MY TREE! WOW, SANTA, YOU'VE BEEN GOOD TO ME!

WHAT'S A MOM TO DO?

I can't remember if I've told you this before or not. If I have, oh well. Carly can't stand to have anyone close a door on her--especially a bathroom door. She will stand outside the door and pound on it and plead to be let in. She will cry and whine and try the door and give you absolutely no peace until you come out or give in and allow her to come in.

I've gotten to the point where I don't even bother to close our bathroom door anymore. Of course, our bathroom is in our bedroom so it's a little bit protected from the rest of the house. But, I don't close the door very often because even if she doesn't see me leave to go the bathroom she seems to have a sixth sense about it and shows up not long after I go in. Of course, when I did use to close the door, she would always wait to show up until I was seated and then bang and scream for what seemed like an eternity. Her timing was so frustrating it just wasn't worth it.

She has a brand new thing now. She learned the word "up" some time ago for when she wanted help climbing up the stairs or wanted you to pick her up. Grandma has taught her to add the word please to that. So, now her favorite phrase is "Up peas". She used to come straight in to the bathroom and pat my bum when I was sitting and say "Mommy's bum" and just laugh. Now she comes in immediately turns her back to me and backs up and says "Up peas. I say "No, not up peas. Mommy busy." She repeats, "Up peas" with more urgency and we go back and forth until one of us gives up or gives in. (Guess who wins most of the time? :}, Yah, not me. lol!)

Well, I just learned from others in the house (who don't and really can't leave the bathroom door open for matters of decorum) that Carly has learned to open the childproof locks on the doors and just walk right in. In fact, she has surprised them right in the middle of their bathroom breaks! "Up Peas!" Lol!

I say this is crazy! She is not even two years old yet. Why can she outwit a child proof door lock? What age child was this lock made to proof? Surely it was supposed to last for more than their first year. Holy crap. We are in trouble. I mean, yah, we can start locking the bathroom doors from the inside when we are using them. No problem. But what do we do about all the sharp things and cleaning poisons, etc. these child proof locks are supposed to keep them away from? Her little hands are not supposed to be able to manuever these things. Carly is not only smart; she is strong.

Wow, do we have our work cut out for us! I am sitting here patting my head. "Work Mommy brain, Work"

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW . . .

Hey, we might as well sing about it--not like we can control it. Just saw the weather and they said that minimum by Sunday we will have between 2-5 inches on the ground and it could be more. The benches could have 6-12 inches and the mountains are supposed to get 12-24 inches. It's supposed to start tomorrow afternoon and keep snowing into Sunday. Sounds like a fun weekend! It never really bothers me when it snows. I like the change of seasons and I especially love snow on the ground at Christmas time. My kids (older ones) on the other hand get cranky about it. I thought kids were supposed to like snow. They never have. Whine, whine, whine. It gets old. I say, if it's going to happen anyway you might as well enjoy it!

This is the first year Carly has really seen snow and she loves it. We haven't really had any snow of substance yet that she can get out in and learn how to build a snowman. I can't wait to see her do that. Hopefully, this weekend there will be enough to see her enjoy doing something fun in it.

Grandma and I went and did some more Christmas shopping this afternoon. Just a few quick things. Slowly but surely we are knocking things off our list. Well, Grandma is much farther ahead than I am. Not that it's a race but if it were she'd be winning. lol!

I made a scrumptious dinner tonight; swiss steak and homemade mashed potatoes. It was delish! Sad thing was Rob ended up having to work late enough that he had to just grab a quick McDonalds. What a drag. Good thing there are leftovers.

Did you hear that? Yah, me too. It's chocolate calling my name. I can't tell which direction it's coming from. I'd better go investigate. Talk to you later.

OH, THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL . . .

O.K, maybe not exactly frightful, but it's pretty durn cold! It got down to 13 degrees today and that was without the windchill factor added in. Sure doesn't make a girl want to spend any time outside. Although, Mom and I still had to brave the cold and the snow on the ground and go do a little Christmas shopping. We art tackling it a little bit each day. She is much further along than I am. I've decided to do the last minute panick. Until then, I am going to remain calm and rather unbothered by my "Icouldcareless" attitude about shopping. I figure whatever I get done before then I get done; whatever I don't I don't. I know I can always panic about it at the last minute! Crazy eh? Yah, that's what I think but then, I couldn't care less right now. :}

So, the last week or so I have been experimenting with putting Carly in her pajamas backwards and I have to say it has been 100 percent successful. She cannot unzip them from behind -- meaning she cannot get her behind out of her diaper and cause problems in her bed before everyone wakes up! Yay! Trouble is--I don't keep her in her P.J.'s all day. Thus, we still have to figure out how to overcome "Naked Bum Naptimes! We are open to suggestions! (Uh, no handcuffs, please. She'd just get out of them!) Lol!

YOU KNOW DASHER AND DANCER AND PRANCER AND VIXON . . . NOW MEET THE CUTEST REINDEER OF ALL!

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR . . .

If that's true then why have I spent two days in bed with a migraine? Don't worry, nothing serious. Probably just a little too much stress and a little too little sleep. I am all recovered.

We have snow on the ground. It's actually pretty outside and I'm not complaining. I like the snow. It is a bit cold. It got down to 12 degrees tonight--although it felt warmer than that to me. It wasn't really biting cold. I guess it was because it didn't have the wind chill with it.

We have most of our Christmas shopping done. Still little bits and pieces to do--but none to mail this year! Yay! Everybody is here. That is nice.

Jonathon kept me up until 3:40 a.m. this morning. It's only 11:45 and he's asleep so I am going to hurry and finish this so I can join him. Hopefully, he will stay that way until morning.

You should hear Carly talk these days. She's a bundle of new language. It's so cute. Grandma is trying to teach her the proper way to say things. Some times she actually gets it right and some times she only gets some of it. She is one funny kid. You'd have to actually overhear a conversation to get what I mean but let's just call her Princess Chatterbox for now.

Well, better get to bed. Night.

I LIKE THIS ONE!

OUR FAMILY PICTURE

CUTE KIDS

PERSONALITY PLUS

Jonathon is just starting to really show us his personality and he is so darn cute! He has always been a happy little guy but it is fun to see him smile and laugh. He talked and cooed to Grandpa for quite awhile tonight. He is so fun!

SANTA BABY

Can you believe this? My daughter, the child with the best smile in the whole world who would not smile for the camera?! Go figure. I guess it's lucky she wasn't scowling or crying. Still, it's a cute shot. She's such a funny kid!

Grandma has been getting her up in the mornings the last little bit because Jonathon has been keeping me up until the wee hours. This morning when Grandma opened her bedroom door she again found her completely disrobed only this time she had hucked her diaper clear across the room. When I went to lay her down for a nap later I found that not only had she disrobed and thrown her diaper but she had then relieved herself afterward in her crib. Yep, sopping wet! Guess I should be thankful it was just wet! That's my girl!

HAPPY SWEET SIXTEEN JULIE!

Wow! Wasn't it just yesterday you were eleven? Where does the time go? You are growing up much too fast for me. Happy Birthday Baby Girl! You are beautiful and I love you. Mom

ME AND MY HONEY

I think I'll keep him. He followed me home and he's awfully cute! Don't ya think?

EVERYBODY'S SICK AGAIN

For some reason we cannot seem to get everybody healthy at our house. We had Bubby (that's my current nickname for Jonathon. It changes fairly frequently.)back at the doctor Friday night. Then they sent us over to the hospital to have his nose cleaned out and a viral scan done. It came back today and thank goodness he only has the Rhino Virus. That's one of the viruses that causes the common cold. Still it causes tons of nasal congestion, difficulty breathing, a sore throat, etc. When we got to the doctor's office with him Friday night his oxygen level was lower than it should have been so they gave him a breathing treatment and that brought it back up immediately. We have had him on those ever since. Poor little guy still sounds bad. He is so congested.

Grandma has severe Bronchitis. Grandpa just hurts all over. Julie's got a sore throat and a bit of a cold. I am starting to catch Julie and Bubby's junk and poor Rob had some kind of reaction to the mixed nuts we got for Thanksgiving. It's almost like he's had food poisoning only no one else got it. I think maybe he's become allergic to nuts. Needless to say--no one left the house for church today.

It has been fairly low key here with everyone just trying to feel better. Hopefully we will accomplish that soon.

WHO SAYS THERE'S NO SANTA CLAUS?

CUTE FAMILY--KIND OF . . .

You won't believe what it took to get this picture. In fact, I can't believe Carly is smiling even a little bit. The photograper caught her between sobs. She was acting like she hadn't had a nap in days. She played shy and hid her face at first and then started to cry uncontrollably. It was awful. We were lucky to get as good a shot as we did. We were all singing her favorite songs to her. Even the photographer was singing. She blew bubbles, too. We all did everything we could think of to make her laugh or smile but no such luck. Jonathon didn't feel good either. Poor little guy. Oh well. It's a wrap. Say Cheese!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE

There is so much to be grateful for. I look around and see my beautiful children, my handsome husband, my wonderful parents and siblings. I am so blessed to live in such a wonderful time and place with so many loving family members and friends. I am grateful for a loving Father in Heaven, for my Savior Jesus Christ, for my freedom and liberty and especially for those who serve daily to allow us to stay free in this country. I have so many blessings to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day--and I am. May you have a wonderful and blessed holiday.

THE DRYER MIRACLE

Thank goodness for whomever discovered you could help calm a colicky baby by warming his blankets in the dryer. It really is an amazing miracle. One minute you have a screaming, upset baby; the next you have tightly wrapped him in warm blankets and he drifts calmly off to sleep. Thank you, thank you. Maybe I can sleep now, too. :)

MY DAY

Spent most of the day holding Jonathon. His tummy has been upset and he doesn't want you to sit down; he wants you to stand up or walk around while you hold him. My arms are so sore. My little guy is about 12 pounds now so he's no light weight to tote around.

We got a call from our daughter Sara tonight. Her college dance team competed in a competition and they took the national title in the division they competed in. We're really proud of her. She's a very talented dancer.

Other than that, we have just been cleaning, sorting through boxes and organizing things and getting things ready for Thanksgiving. Rob and I did a tiny bit of shopping tonight but we were both too tired to do much. Nothing really exciting happening here. Everybody is in bed now but me. Guess I had better get there while the getting is good. lol.

TODAY

Was a really nice day. We had great church meetings and the kids were really good. Well, that is until we went to pick Carly up from her nursery class and she had a complete meltdown. Get this, all the kids were gone. She was the last one there to be picked up. It was just her and teacher. The toys had been put away and so had the snacks and she still was not ready to go home. Total tantrum. My poor little socialite. She just doesn't get enough "friend" time.

Then we came home and Mom, Julie and reorganized some of the kitchen cabinets so we could fit thinks in better. It looks a lot nicer, too. Then we made Lasagne and homemade rolls for dinner. Megan and Uncle Steve and the kids came over. We watched a game or two (don't know which ones because I wasn't paying attention) and had some nice family time. Then everyone went to bed. Think I will go join them. Night.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE . . .

Potty-trained. I think maybe Carly is giving me hints. Maybe they aren't even hints but giant messages! Everytime I got her out of bed today (naps included) she had removed her pants and diaper. Either she has naked baby syndrome or she is ready to go diaperless. I'm just wondering if a 21 month old can grasp the concept of "going on the big potty." I have approached the idea with her a few times and even let her sit on the throne a couple of times to get the feel of it (with no outcome). Pun intended. I'm just not sure what to make of the her need to be naked, at least from the waist down, if she isn't ready to potty train. And if she isn't, and I can't talk her into keeping her diaper on, I am going to need a case or two of duct tape. Santa, did you hear that?

SOMEBUNNY LOVES ME

Lately it has been a huge deal to Carly to pick out what she wears each day. She has also started a new habit of undressing herself. Unfortunately, this part of the equation has been occurring before the rest of us wake up in the morning. So, upon entering her room we sometimes find a naked little girl in her crib. We have tried safety pins, diaper pins--pretty much everything except duct tape and handcuffs to keep her p.j.'s on her. The only thing we haven't tried is putting them on backwards. Someone suggested that to me--and said it works. I just can't figure out how the feet part would work. Seems like they wouldn't fit. But like I said I haven't tried it yet.

Anyway, when I found my cute little Lady Godiva this morning she was very excited to pick something from her closet to wear. I showed her several things and was sure she was about to pick out one of her cute dresses. Then all of the sudden her eyes landed on something that wasn't an outfit at all. Instead, it was a costume the neighbors gave us because their kids outgrew it. I hadn't even let Carly try it on yet because it looked too big for her this year. But, she decided that's what she was going to wear today and that was the end of the discussion.

Holy Moly. Are you serious, child? Oh yah, she was!

So without further ado--here's my little bunny girl in her Thursday outfit! LOL! Gotta love her! She's an independent spirit that's for sure! (Oh yah--and she wouldn't pose for me so I just had to snap a few photos. That's why they aren't that great.)

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

IT'S AMAZING

What you can accomplish when you've had a night's sleep! I'd forgotten what it was like to sleep through the night. It felt so wonderful albeit a little weird. I did wake up every few hours and glance at the clock and then at the cradle to make sure I wasn't imagining things. Sure enough, he was still asleep and I wasn't dreaming. Yippee!

Today we went to Dad's knee surgeon to check things out and had a really great appointment. They took an X-Ray of his knee and we got to look at it and boy, does he have a reason to be in pain. It's really bad! No cartilage left and lots of arthritis. We set a tentative date for surgery and we'll see where things go from there.

Here's to hoping tonight is another night like last night's!

YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS . . .

I don't believe it. Jonathon fell asleep around 11:30 p.m. which isn't unusal. But he usually only naps for about 20 minutes and then wakes up in that Colicky crying for the next hour to three hours. Well, last night instead of staying up and blogging during his nap I put him to bed and decided to go to bed myself, I figured I would get up with him as soon as he woke up hurting. Well, here's the big surprise--he didn't wake up until 5:10 a.m.! No way! Plus he's a big smiley guy this morning. I love it! Mama is a happy camper! I am crediting the new formula we started him on. Yay!

JONATHON AND MOMMY

Are bonding in the early morning hours over Reflux and Colic. Who needs insomnia? Will somebody please come put us to bed?! :}

CARLY IS A PARROT

The newest fun at our house is getting Carly to repeat the things you say. Sometimes it's on purpose and sometimes it just happens. Her sisters have the most fun getting her to say the slang of the day like "Wassup" and "Wass Happnin'" and "You go girl." Then there are those moments when you are not thinking at all about teaching her a new word but something frustrating happens and you say "Dang it"(which is about as bad as I get these days)and you don't realize she's there until you hear this tiny little "dang it" right behind you. Arrghh! Gotta watch myself! I'm raising a little person and she is a parrot. She mimics everything she hears right now. Hey, maybe I'm saying all the wrong things out loud. Tomorrow I'm starting with a new outloud mantra. Mommy is smart. Mommy is pretty. Mommy is cool. I love Mommy. Mommy is my favorite parent, Mommy is a genius . . .

MY HAPPY BOY

Jonathon started cooing and talking to Grandma this morning and then Julie got these big grins from him. He is such a handsome, happy boy and we love him so much.

UNSCRIPTED MOMENTS

I caught this photo the other day when my mom told me to look and see where Carly was. Sure enough she had climbed into Grandpa's lap. She likes her Grandpa, alright! She's building a pretty special bond with her Grandma and Grandpa and I have a front row seat.
I love it!




Carly is still reverting a little bit back to her babyhood. Here she is trying to fit into her old baby carrier (the one that now belongs to Jonathon--no jealously here folks. Lol!) I think she's a little depressed that it doesn't fit as well as it used to. Hee, hee, hee.

HOUSE OF SICKIES

Seems like I spent the day at the doctor's office and the pharmacy. We're still working on Jonathon's reflux. Well, nothing's working on Jonathon's reflux so far so we had to go back to the drawing board today. We are now trying a new formula, going back to the first med but with a higher dose and doing some tests to make sure he isn't allergic to milk. My doctor thinks he has at least two issues going on: Reflux and colic. The colic is what is making him scream in pain for a couple of hours at night. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot we can do for the colic but hopefully changing the formula will help some. And we are going to cross our fingers that something starts to work on the reflux. Lots of prayers please friends. Our little guy needs to start feeling better.

Then, I ended up back at the doctor's office with Julie because she had a pain in her side. It had been hurting for a couple of days but got really bad today. No, it wasn't appendicitis--wrong side. Turned out to be Costochondritis-an inflammation of her ribs. So, she is on the take it easy plan for the next ten days.

Let's face it--we are a house of sickies. Gee Whiz we are going on our 6th or 7th week of someone in the house being ill. That's just yukky. It's time for us to be well. It's our turn--don't ya think?!

SUGAR AND SPICE AND . . .

Grandma was making an apple pie tonight and some pie dough cookies with the left over pie dough. She was sprinkling cinnamon and sugar on the cookies before she baked them and Carly was watching every move she made. Grandma had made the same cookies last week when she baked some other pies so, I think Carly was pretty excited to have some more cookies.

I walked by a few minutes later and saw Carly with the cinnamon and sugar shaker and Grandma was right there so I didn't think much of it. I figured Grandma had emptied it doing the cookies and was letting Carly hold it. What is it they say about making ASSUMPTIONS? Oh yah, nevermind. I should have asked more questions.

The next time I turned around I saw Carly playfully shaking cinnamon and sugar all over the kithen floor as she delightfully danced around in it. She looked shocked when I screamed her name. I mean, what in the world could I want. She knew I had seen her with it and not said anything and she was just having fun, right? I took the shaker away from her but that didn't bother her much she just kept dancing her naked feet all over the floor. It didn't matter how many times I told her "NO" or in what tone she loved the feel of the sugar on her feet and she danced away. I had to pick her up and move her.

I went to get a vacuum and came back to find my dogs cleaning it up with their tongues for Carly back in the middle of it all dancing again. By this time--you can imagine, it was a real sticky, yukky mess. All I can say is--Man, it's a good thing this little girl is so darn cute!

MY LITTLE GUY

I'm sitting in my recliner with the most handsome baby boy sound asleep on my chest. Does it get any better than this? I love this little guy so much. He had a really hard night last night. It was almost 5 a.m. before he really fell asleep. His tummy was acting up so much.
Poor little guy. He has projectile vomiting down for sure--at least he did last night. I am hoping he will get a good night's sleep tonight. He did keep most of this last bottle down--so here's hoping!

He is getting more alert everyday. Yesterday, I got a big smile out of him twice when I was talking to him and being playful with him. He is such an adorable little boy. He certainly has me wrapped around his finger.

Well better see if I can lay him down and keep him asleep. Cross your fingers!

CARLY'S PERSONAL JUKEBOX

For some time now I've been telling you of Carly's love for commercials and the music behind them. It's really something you have to experience with her to truly understand. It wasn't until this evening that I was able to put into words what they are for her. We left the TV on during dinner because we were eating late and we wanted to keep up with Dancing with the Stars. During the shows breaks Carly would get distracted from her dinner with each new commercial. It was really obvious and someone commented on it. We realized it was because the music would change. It wasn't the music of the show but the music underlying each commercial. Then it hit me. The commercials are like her own personal, free Jukebox! That's why she loves them so much. They are on constantly, change often and they are fun and free. What more could a girl ask?!

FEEL MY FOREHEAD

Carly has been having mood swings. I mean she can go from happy to major melt down faster than a speeding locomotive can jump the tracks. She has the biggest tears of anyone I've ever met and before her tears are halfway down her face she is giggling and laughing again. It would be a lot cuter if it weren't so constant. Is this the preview to the terrible twos? Happy. Sad. Happy. Sad. Happy. Sad. Happy. Sad. Oh my goodness!

It reminds me of my sister's Susan's little girl Alyssa. When Alyssa was about 4 or 5 she was being really dramatic and Susan was telling someone how "Melodramatic" she was. Alyssa apparently overheard her, though didn't understand exactly what her Mom was talking about because a few minutes later she came and made the funniest statement to her. She said; "Mom, will you feel my head; I think I have melodramatic?" LOL!

I think that's where we're at right now. I think Carly has melodramatic! I just wish there was a treatment for it.

HAPPY 51st ANNIVERSARY MOM & DAD

Fifty-one years ago today my parents married each other. Pretty amazing these days to find a couple who has stayed married for this many years who still loves each other and enjoys being together. My parents do all of the above. I'm so glad they have each other and have had so many wonderful years together. Thanks for loving each other and loving us. We love you Mom and Dad! Happy Anniversary!

CHIROPRACTICALLY EVERYONE . . .

Well, actually only Grandma, Jonathon and I went to the Chiropractor today--along with a friend and her baby who referred us to this Chiropractor. I didn't know until very recently that babies could be adjusted by chiropractors but it's actually quite a common practice. Anyway, this one we went to has seen a ton of babies and helped them with Reflux. So, we drove almost an hour to see him. It was really interested to watch him work with Jonathon and to have him show us how he was out of alignment and then see him put him back in alignment. I was very pleasantly surprised by the whole thing.

When you think about it babies actually go through a lot during the birth process to squeeze their bodies out of a not very big opening. It has to put a strain on their body and the way it is aligned. We noticed almost immediately how calm Jonathon became. He usually has his arms waving around--sometimes even when he first goes to sleep he will still have them moving but he didn't at all once he'd been adjusted. So far, it hasn't changed his spitting up at all but they told us that could take a couple of times to make a difference. I'm willing to try anything at this point. Thickening his formula with rice helped a little bit--not a lot but it gave him tummy troubles. The Prevacid hasn't seemed to have kicked in yet but we were only on day 3 today. I just don't know what to do for him that we aren't trying.
I really do wish I knew.

Mom's arm and shoulder felt a good bit better when we were done, too--and my head felt better for the moment. All in all I think the trip was worthwhile. We will do it at least once more and hope for further good results. Wish us luck!

CARLY SAYS:

Today Carly said: "No, no, no, no, no " and my mother said, "Oh, I'm afraid I'm responsible for her learning to say that. Then, Carly said, "Stop it, Stop it, Stop it!" and I said, "Well, I taught her that one. Then Carly turned and smacked my hand and said, "Don't" and Grandma and I looked at sister Julie, and said, "I guess you taught her that one." Julie just smiled, and Carly laughed out loud.

Hmmmmm, I don't think those were the lessons we were trying to teach her in those moments. :}

SAME OL' SAME OL'

Dang. We started Jonathon on the new medicine for his Reflux this evening and it was not MAGIC. I was hoping it would work right away like the first medicine did with the exception that it would keep working. It didn't. We didn't notice any difference at all. Dern. We are supposed to give it a week. I've mentioned before that I am not patient right? Well, that hasn't changed. My poor little guy can't stop throwing up and it's making me sick--for him. Ugh. I just want him to feel good.

Please say prayers for him. Thanks. :/

GOING POTTY WITH CARLY

So, as the mother of a toddler I have gotten used to the fact that I am no longer allowed to go potty alone. If I try, she stands at the door, bangs on it and has a meltdown. Today, I took Grandpa and Grandma to Salt Lake for an appointment. While Carly, Jonathon and I were in the waiting room, Carly had a poopie diaper. I asked the receptionist where the closest restroom was and she lead me to one in their back office area. It was a very nice, single restroom. I hauled the crew and all of our bags in there and got Carly all changed.

Then I had this crazy thought. It's a long drive home. "I should "go" too while we are in here." No problem I thought. I will be quick. Silly me. As it happened the toilet was several feet from the door but it didn't occur to me that that would be a problem. So, I got busy and was almost finished when my cute little toddler decided to try the door handle. Now, I hadn't forseen that as a problem because it was a heavy wooden door and she had been trying all the door handles in the reception area with little result before we went to the bathroom. They were those pull down handles but they were too heavy for her to pull down. She couldn't make them move so I wasn't worried. Plus, I had locked the bathroom door.

So there I am in the bathroom--a little vulnerable, too far from the door to stop her--got a steady stream flowing and suddenly my cute little toddler jumps up and grabs the door handle and pulls back on it. Yep, it starts to fling open! I was up off that toilet to push that door shut faster than a fox fleeing a hen house. It wasn't pretty but I got the job done. There was a busy hallway outside that door and I didn't feel like being the sideshow! Although, I'm sure they wondered what the rukus was all about!

Yep, this little girly is giving me a run for my money! It's probably good for me. I need the exercise! :)

MAJOR TROUBLE

NEED I SAY MORE?

HALLOWEEN . . . THE DAY AFTER

Sugar. Little girl. Craziness. Need I say more? Crying if you don't give it to her; crying and fussing if you do. More mom, always more. Gee whiz. It's never enough. I'm sure I was never like that. (Yah right!)

Sometimes the big sisters are big helps and sometimes they are not. Today not so much. Carly has been belching quite a bit. What do the sisters do? They give her huge "high fives" every time she does it. Encouragement?! Oh, you betcha! Everytime she misbehaved today they laughed loud and she performed more and better. I just about gave them time outs! She is at that age where she understands, mimics and plays to the crowd. Sometimes it is really hard not to laugh, but that's when you have to pull a nose hair or pinch yourself really hard so you don't!

Tears, screaming. Sugar high is wearing off. Time to go. Baby girl's bedtime.

HALLOWEEN AT OUR HOUSE!