Party in the USA

Last night was the beginning of our Halloween fun with a party at the church. Jenna dressed up as a winter fairy (thanks for the costume, Macey!) Jenna loved it, of course, and couldn't stop talking about how "sparkery" the dress was. I could tell she felt pretty, just check out the poses in these pictures:

Over the shoulder Hollywood pose

Looking foward to Saturday!

Jenna, you shouldn't be trying to fit into clothes that are too small for you. That's my job. Those "shorts" are actually pants... for Callie.... they're size 3 months.

But while we're at it, let's take some more pictures...
Uh... that's freaky. Happy Halloween!

Random things in my head today...

• If our last name started with an "I," Callie's initials would be C.S.I. How cool would that be? It would be even cooler if we also lived in Las Vegas, Miami or New York.
• Spray painting is a lot harder than it seems.
• Some people in this world need to repeat their customer service training.
• If Clorox wipes can kill 99.9% of bacteria, why can't they just kill 100%?
• All baby bottles are not created equal.
• Callie needs to poop.
• Jenna does, too.
• My toes need some polish.
• What are we going to dress up as for the Halloween party on Wednesday? Are we going to dress up?
• There's a tickle in my throat. Where's that Vitamin C?
• Jenna told me to get away. But then later asked me if we were best friends. Two-year-olds confuse me.
• Dinner.....
• This weather is perfect. I should take the girls outside after nap.
• Mom's having surgery on Friday.
• What is that on the bottom of my shoe?
• I need to get off this couch and straighten up, do some laundry and eat lunch.

Oh my cuteness.

Oh, the memories

Jenna surprises me sometimes with the things she remembers and lately she's been sharing her thoughts...

"Mom, 'member I went with Daddy to the red park and I went poo poo in my poe-wup? 'Member, Mom?"

"Mom, 'member I took my carseat in Daddy's car to his works? And I got the stickers? 'Member, Mom? 'Member? That was awesome."

"Mom, 'member we went to the temple last night? With Jereminah?" (I think she's talking about last Christmas when we went with some friends and their son, Jeremiah, to see the lights at the temple).

"Mom, 'member I went to Emawin's (Evelyn's) house and we watch Ciner-wellwa and her mom said no? 'Member dat, Mom?"

"Mom, 'member we went to the airpwanes and they go 'SHWOOO' so woud wike dat?"

"Mom, 'member baby Ty-wer coming to my house?"

"Mom, 'member Gramma gave me dis shirt?"

Jenna, 'member when you had hot chocolate and it got all over your face and you were still the cutest two-year-old ever? 'Member that?

Dear Treadmill,

It's been a while. Several months, to be honest. And last night, after I spent a few minutes trying to remember how to start you up, you kicked my trash. We only spent 23 minutes and 1.45 miles together but I think it's safe to say it was harder than giving birth. Oh wait. I had an epidural. But you know what I mean. Jake told me to stretch out and I did but today the tops of my thighs are sore. That better mean something, like... they're getting smaller. You'll be seeing a lot more of me, my little Tready. I want to run with the best of 'em (a.k.a. Amy & Melissa). Next time: thirty minutes. Watch out.

Sincerely,
Thunder Thighs

Today's been a good, good day

I don't want to jump the gun here, but it seems like there's been a change with this little one. She's been on "special" formula for three days (we're doing a little experiment) and while it hasn't miraculously helped her sleep 10 hours straight, there has been significantly less fussing the past couple of days. Maybe it's the formula? Maybe she's hitting that 6-week peak when some colicky babies seem to just grow out of it... either way, I'll take it.

I decided this morning that I can't spend 30-45 minutes rocking/bouncing/pacing at each naptime during the day. I found myself saying, "Just a minute," "Hold on," "Wait 'til I get Callie down," etc. way too often to Jenna. The process was just taking too much time. So, this morning for her first nap, I swaddled her up when I first saw her yawn, patted her bum for a minute, told her I loved her and put her in her bed. She cried. I went in every 10 minutes, checked her diaper, rubbed her back and said, "Sshhhh." Forty-five minutes later, she was asleep. And for the rest of her naps today, she's fallen asleep on her own.

I hope this isn't a fluke. I hope we're at a turning point here. I'm cool even if she doesn't sleep 8 hours every night just as long as I'm not spending that long pacing the floor, trying to settle her down. The fact that she fell asleep on her own throughout the day today meant I had a ton more time to play with Jenna, clean the floors and figure out and make dinner. I think I'm the happiest mom on the block.

And you know what else makes me happy? Jenna. Everything about her today made me want to smother her with smooches. She was such a good girl today, maybe because she sensed I was happy, too. I love it when she sings the song from the Tinkerbell movie at the top her lungs and makes up stories about purple beaches. We snuggled at naptime and she did my "make-up" with her blocks. Right now she is doing my hair and just stood in front of me and said, "Look at me, look at me. Hmmm.... little bit more." Now she just ran into the kitchen and said, "I hungry. Can I have a vitamin?" (We just finished dinner). She's the craziest girl I know and yes, she sometimes drives me crazy but mostly I'm just crazy about her.

A Photo Shoot by Jenna

Hope you can't see the dust on these...

Library books....

Callie's blanket....

New boots...

Up close...

Love those eyes...

Her sweater...

The swing...

Weird...

Weirder.

Me: Hey Jenna, tomorrow we have to take Callie to the doctor again so you get to go swimming with Porter and Amy!

Jenna: Woohoo!

Me: And your swimsuit is already at Aunt Amy's house.

Jenna, slapping her hand on her knee: Ahhhhh SNAP!she took this of herself

"Hey Mom! Take a picture of my bunny!" At least she didn't shoot it, right Dad?

The Studying Stud

A shout out to this guy:

who rocks the schoolhouse. He's somehow pulling A grades even when he hardly has time to study because his wife didn't get dinner made and he's up in the middle of the night with a screaming newborn. He's pretty much awesome. And who else can sport a hot pink car on their shirt as well as he does?

So Easy To Love

All snug in the pretty blanket the Young Women made for her.

Tyra Banks is her BFF.

Time to say goodbye....

...to the long, scraggly baby hair. I've been wanting to cut Jenna's hair for a while but she's always declined my offer. But when I asked her tonight, she surprised me and I was feeling unusually confident so we went for it. I set her up with "Sid the Science Kid" and she sat perfectly still while I snipped away.

Before:

After:
Jake was more sentimental about it than I was and was concerned about how short I was going to cut it. And even though he was pleased with the end result, he requested that I save a lock or two. I obliged and carefully tucked away some curls in an envelope and put it in her baby book. And Jenna's response when I held her up to the mirror to see: "Mom, you're good at that cutting hair." And Jenna, you're just good at being cute.

More views of the front to come...

That was then....

Freshmen at BYU-Idaho, 2001

Modesto, seminary, prom, "We're goin' to college, we're gonna be roommates," "It's not gossip if it's just us," Rexburg, studying, devotional, sub-zero weather, FHE, quote walls, Broulims, dorm boys (a.k.a. David & Jake) stadium singing, Top Ramen, sharing clothes, quarters for laundry, staying up late, giggling, bridesmaids, Remote Possibilities (best game ever) homemade donuts, Oreo shakes, University Courtyard, students.

This is now.....
Three kids later, 2009

San Antonio, Cleveland, blogs & emails, bottles, bibs, bedtimes, crawling, time-out, chasing, holding, rocking, singing, sharing, "Whatever happened to....?" staying up late, Remote Possibilities (I still rule at that game!) laughing, Moms.

Jen, thanks for coming all the way from Texas to help this crazy new mom out!

The real thing.

Yesterday, I was pretty sure Callie smiled at Jenna. But I thought it was too early so I shrugged it off. But this morning, we definitely saw some smiles as Jake tickled her cheek.
We were all smiles too after the good night she had on Saturday. She slept 6 hours, then, after eating, another 4 and no crying!

One Month

At one month, Callie can follow objects with her eyes, lift her head up for several seconds at a time and turn her head from side to side. She eats about every 3 hours and poops about every 3 seconds. She's got a great pair of lungs, which she likes to show off during inconvenient hours when most normal people are sleeping. In an attempt to determine the cause of her crying, we've been to a couple doctors who suspect a possible milk allergy. So, for the next two weeks I'm avoiding all milk and milk products. That means ice cream. Can I make it???

In other blogworthy happenings, I was mortified at the grocery store today. I had Callie in the Snugli and Jenna in the cart. We were checking out...

Cashier, to Jenna: Is that your baby sister?

Jenna: Yeah

Me: What's her name?

Jenna: Cow-wee

Cashier: Do you hold your sister?
Jenna: Yeah. She fell down.

Cashier: She fell down?
Jenna: Yeah. In her swing. She fell down.

Me, laughing nervously

Cashier: Did she get hurt?
Me: Noooo she was okay.

The real story is that Callie was in her swing and I was finishing up dishes in the kitchen. Jenna tried to hold her and Callie ended up face down on the hardwood floor. I didn't see exactly what happened and I don't think she was like that for more than a second but still. Lesson learned: there's a reason for those buckles. And that cashier probably thinks I'm one of those moms. Remind me not to check out at register 15 anymore.

Honesty is the best policy.

Me, from the living room, to Jenna, in the kitchen: Hey Jenna, what are you doing?

Jenna: Making a mess.

Yes, that is "paint" a.k.a play-doh mixed with "2 cups water" and yes, it was ALL over.