Miss Independant!!!

Does any one remember the little boy in the movie Daddy Daycare starring Eddie Murphy that had to wear his Flash Gordon Costume everyday. Well Kate from the moment she wakes up to the moment so goes to bed wants to wear her Swimming Suit. The funniest part is sometimes she has to have her bathing suit on with a Sunday dress over it, the other half of the time she is up and about. I hid her suit one day and I didn't hear the end of it, all day long she nagged me mommy, mommy where is my swimming suit. I don't know what's worse having her wear her suit all the time or the constant nagging. I told her I had to wash it, which was true. I ended up going to the store and buy another suit so she can swim in one and have a different around the house, so one will be dry. She loves her new purple suit she danced all over the house. Yesterday she didn't want to change so we could go to the store, she wanted to wear it to the store, she threw a huge tantrum over it. I told her if we aren't dress properly we won 't be able to go in the store, the whole no shoes no shirt, no service idea. She was not having it. Today Miss Independent had some of her friends over and we made brownies. I told her she had to take her new suit off to lick the spoon so she wouldn't get it dirt. I was trying anything to get that darn suit off of her. She actually took is off without a fight. After she was done she marched back upstairs and put it right back on, I couldn't believe it. We then got ready to eat them and I told her again that you can't eat brownies with your new suit on, so she took it off and put her clothes back on. I thought she would get tired of changing, boy was I wrong, to no avail she went right back upstairs to put it back on. I GIVE UP AAHHH!!! She now as I'm writing this she is wearing her swimming suit. Once she figured out how to dress herself she has been very much become a little miss independent. I hope this is a phase, I guess it's not the worse thing to worry about, the suit will get smaller on her as she grows. Have any of your children gone though a phase like this??

A day out on the town!

Well yesterday was a well deserved break. Jerry has been working 12 hours shifts this whole week, so after eight hours of sleep and 12 hours of working, it added up to only 1 to 2 hours a day that I would see him. It has been a really Challenging week, with a lot of ups and downs. Kate was really in the mood to test me at every turn, being two sure does bring it's challenges. Caleb was also very fussy from his acid reflux and some colic. I thought I was never going to get out of my house. Jerry said where do you want to go, I told him I didn't care as long as we were out of the house. We ended up going out to eat at Logan's Road House, we had never gone there before, it was pretty good. We then went to Target to get a sit n stand stroller for the kids. I'm very excited to have it, it will make going out with the two children/ taking walks easier. We then got caught in a huge rainstorm, we where soaked. We then met up with some friends after the rain stopped to go putt putt golfing. I was so excited to be out of the house I didn't quite want to go home yet, so we went to IHOP for dinner. I had such a great time, It felt like it had been months since I've gotten out of the house, I didn't want to go home, but alas it was getting late. I need to get out more I think.
It's be so depressingly hot, the heat has made it hard to want to take the kid outside. I took a step back after this week and realized I had some great moments thru the thick of all the frustrating moments. For example Caleb didn't cry during his bath for the first time, I got a nap, I went swimming with friends to cool off from the summer heat, it felt great. I also got to share with Kate her first time seeing a Rainbow, it was really wonderful to see the excitment on her face. I had a great teaching moment, and reminded her about the story of Noah's Ark. I reminded Kate of the promise the Lord gave us when he sent the rainbow, to never flood the earth again. She pointed out all the colors and was really excited. So in the end, despite feeling like a single mom for a week, with all the struggles I had (sleepless nights, tantrums and colic), I took a moment to look at the positive things and it's really made me appreciate my struggles and trials even more. It makes me stronger!

Caleb's 2 month Checkup

I went to the pediatrician yesterday, with both kids, not my ideal situation, but Jerry had to work overtime at the last minute and it was to late to get a babysitter. Kate actually did really well, we only had to go pee pee 4 times and pooh 1 time in a matter of an hours and a half, I think part of it was just her wanting to get up and out of the room, but she did go each time quite a bit, so she must of had to go. She talked the nurses and the doctor's ear off and told them how she old she was " I 2 1/2 and I going to be 3 on my birthday". She told them about her princess party for her birthday. It was funny after the nurse gave her a tongue depressor she pretended to go water skiing, then she proceeded to tell them how she went water skiing with her daddy. They couldn't believe how articulate she was for her age. I told them if you let her she will definitely talk your ear off.

Well back to Caleb they measure him and he was 22 1/4 inches long and a healthy 12.5 pounds, the doctor thought he was 3 months old for just a second. He was in the 75 percentile for his weight. I'm glad to see he is gaining weight. Earlier in the month we had to get an upper GI done to see why he was spitting up so much. It was so much more compared to Kate that they thought it would be best to check it out. He would spit up dinner size plate full all over the couch etc. The doctor and I both wanted to check out to have peace of mind. They didn't find any blockage, but the x-ray did show that he had some acid reflux. Caleb has actually improved a little everyday with is reflux , and the fact that he is still gaining weight is a really good thing. The Doctor said anywhere from 3 to 6 months he should grow out to it. Caleb also got his first set of shots, they were surprised that he didn't cry on the first one, but they spoke to soon, the next two he sure was screaming. Caleb did really well, he quickly calmed down and fell fast asleep. Something happen to the paperwork the first time they did his PKU which is where they stick is foot and squeeze drops of blood onto a paper. I was so frustrated the lady was new at it and didn't know what she was doing and had to stick his little foot twice, it took her forever to get the amount of blood she needed. It was cute Kate decided to sing Caleb a song to make him feel better she sang twinkle little star. Then the nurse asked if she wanted to sing another one since it was taking so long, so Kate decided to sing Book of Mormon Stories (a children primary song), let just say when the words Book of Mormon stories part of the song came up she gave us a strange look. Yes it pretty much pointed out that we were Mormon/LDS and down here in the Bible Belt/ Baptist Community that can be difficult, because of the different ideas/views on things. The nurse just smiled and said what a pretty singer she was.

We finally got done and we went to Mc D's for lunch as promised if Kate was good, she had her good and bad moments but for the most part she was good so we had lunch and then Naps. After that the fun part began. Caleb cried almost no stop until 11:00p.m. that night, I thought my arms where going to fall off because Caleb didn't want me to put him down. Then Kate was not going to bed like she should. She was in her bed just not going to sleep, she eventually drifted off around 10:30, which is 3 hours passed her bed time. I thought I would never get though this day, it was a tough one. I am grateful in the end that I have two Healthy beautiful children. I am truly blessed to have them in my life.

Enjoying the Journey

Have you ever had one of those days where you try to attempt to accomplish the things you need to get done, but the day has something else planned for you. Today I look at my house and saw laundry that needs to be folded and dishes to be done, and vacuuming too. I know it will only take me a good hour or so to really get the job done, but my kids had other plans for me today. Caleb has acid reflux and was fussy and wanted to be held continuously and Kate just needed some extra love and affection. She was crying all day for no real reason. I didn't do much today to someone looking from the outside, but I held a cute baby until he felt better, I played games with my 2 years old and shared some smiles and some laughs. I sat together to watch Kate's favorite movie, and we say her favorite song, "I'm a Child of God". I read somewhere to try to enjoy the time and the moments you have with you kids and not just try to get the daily tasks done. Feed kid breakfast, lunch, dinner, check that off my list, story time, check,getting them to take a nap, check, giving them a bath, check say prayers etc. So when I have had a hard time accomplishing what I needed to get done, I try to look at what I have done that day, and I realize I actually did a whole lot more than I thought I did. After all there is always tomorrow to get the chores done and your kids are only little for a while. I feel a little better just writing this down, I really did enjoy the journey today!

July 4th Weekend!

July 4th Weekend Part 2

We loved going to the Pancake breakfast in the morning at the church. We then went back home and had some friends, the Guistina's come over and swimming in our apartment pool. It felt so nice since the weather was so humid out. We then had all the kids take naps and later on that night we went to their house to have a BBQ and shoot of fireworks. Now anyone that knows my husband knows that the 4th is his favorite Holiday and then comes Christmas. So as you can imagine he buys lots of fireworks. I'll try to post the picture of all the fireworks before we shot them off, I don't think the picture does it any justice. We pretty much had a professional fireworks show without the crowd of people and the terrible traffic to go back home in. The Guistina's Neighbors all came out and started to watch, at the end they all clapped. Kate Love it, she would clap and say "good job daddy, good job!" Jerry was so excited after shooting them off that he could hardly go to sleep that night he was so pumped up, he had a good time. It kind of reminds me of a little kid in an adult body, just how excited he was. We all had a great time, we finish off the weekend by going to the beach in Destin Florida. It was Caleb's first visit to the beach, let just say it wasn't the smoothest trip we had down at the beach. We will have to try it again when he is a little older. It was really windy that day and Caleb had a hard time with that. All in all it was a busy and fun weekend.

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on what the holiday today means to me. I'm am so grateful that I live in a country were I am free to worship how I please, and so many other freedoms that most do even have in the world today. Thank you to all the men and women who have and are and will serve this country. I am thankful for the sacrifices that their family have had to make. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I sing our national anthem, I always get goose bumps when the words " The land of the Free and the home of the Brave" are sung. I feel truly blessed know matter how crazy our economy gets or what the price of gas is, we still have our freedoms. Happy 4th of July everyone!

Natural Light

After reading part of my new book I got, I decided to test some of the techniques out. I discovered the power of natural light compare to using a flash. When to use it and when not to. I really have enjoyed brushing up on my skills, and the best part is I have two really cute subject to practice on, my two kids. I really enjoy taking pictures, I'm looking forward to getting even better the more I practice. Above is a before and after shot using the flash and then without. Decide for yourself what do you like better?

Revisiting my New Year's Resolution

Yesterday was Family Night, I actually remembered this time. Every Monday we try to spend time together as a family by starting with a prayer, sing songs, reading scriptures and doing some type of activity, and maybe even a treat at the end. I set a goal at the beginning of the year to be consistent and try to have it every Monday at 5:30, well having a baby kind of through me off a little. So I decided to pick it up and do a little better now that we are starting to get into a little more of a routine with Caleb. Yesterday we had Kate pick a story out of her Book of Mormon, she really enjoys listening to the stories. We then Sang "I'm a Child of God" and did the Sign Language that goes with it. That's Kate's favorite song, see play list to listen to it, if you are unfamiliar with it. We then took a nice walk, the weather was actually really nice, then we had some sherbet ice cream when we got home. I love the time we spend together as a family it truly brings us closer together, and helps me remember the important things in life. I really want to be better and when I set a goal for myself for those of you who know me well, know I really try to do all I can to accomplish it. So let just call it a mid year resolution, if there is such a thing. Kate's goal was to be potty trained before Caleb arrive, she accomplished that. Jerry's was to get in shape, he is continually working on it. So far everyone is doing well, except for me, I better step it up. I'm ready to do better!

So Excited!

I'm so excited I found two great books on photography. I took a class in High School and loved it, but forgot some of the techniques. I thought that since there are no classes around here to take, I could at least get a book. I love taking pictures and wanted to develop this talent/hobby a little more. I'm excited because it's something I can do for myself along with my kids. Sometimes I'm so much on the wife and mommy track I forget about things I like to do. This is something easy and fun I can do everyday if I wanted to. I read the first book in a day, I can't wait to get started taking better pictures!!

Mission Accomplished

I woke up yesterday determined to not let my anxiety of taking two children by myself to the bookstore stop me. Stores without carts can be challenging. I'm not afraid to admit that taking two children out by myself is something I am still getting use to. I know everyone does it, I'm just have to figure out the logistic's of two of them one of me. Getting them in and out of the car, do I take a stroller, do I take the baby sling, or seat, what's going to work the best. Well I wanted to get some photography books to improve my picture taking. I had looked on line but really need to just look at a book in my hands and see if it's what I really needed to help me. So I feed Caleb and changed his diaper, and I stocked my diaper bags, so that I was fully prepared for anything. We got to the store and I asked Kate if she needed to go to the potty, she said no. You can probably see where this is going. I thought this out carefully and decided Caleb would go in the baby sling and Kate in the Stroller. ( I need a double stroller badly after this trip). Kate started to fuss and wanting to get out and Caleb was not fitting right in his sling. I had to fix the sling while Kate and Caleb are crying their eyes out. I told myself up front that this was going to be challenging today and to not get stressed out; yeah right easier said then done. I then get settle and find a few books to browse at, and then head over to the kids section. I let Kate play with the Thomas the train set while I finish up looking to see what book I wanted to purchase. It was going great until I told Kate to get back in the stroller so we can go. She said I can't sit down mommy, I wanted to die right there, she had gone poop in her panties. I wasn't even thinking this was going to be an issue since Kate has been potty trained for weeks. I marched her off to the bathroom and wonder how to clean her up with only one free hand. Luckily the stall had a diaper changing station inside the stall, I placed Caleb on that and cleaned up Kate. I caught her just in time, it wasn't to bad, she finished up on the toilet. We then came out and I just wasn't satisfied with the book I picked out, so I told Kate she had to sit in her stroller and think about what she had done, while mommy looks for a different book. It actually worked, she sat there the rest of the time. We then pick out a book for Kate, previously promised before she had an accident. She got the Rainbow Fish it teaches a good moral about sharing makes us happy. We finally get up to check out and make it out of the store without any more problems. Let just say it's not what I thought was going to happen but we dealt with everything in stride and it all work out in the end pretty good, it was a good first try at this whole taking two kids thing. I'll get better as I do it more, I don't even know why I stress out with just one kid. I think I often worry more then I have to, I just want to be prepared for anything. So in the end the mission was accomplished I got my two books and Kate got one as well.

Children's Festival in the Park 2008

Yesterday we went to the Annual Children's Festival at our favorite park. Kate loved it last year and we have been looking forward to going this year. The local Rotary Club is in charge of the event. Every business in the town sponsors a booth, or activity for the children and in turn everything is free. They have everything from pony rides to petting zoo, train rides, and bouncy castles, Kate's favorite was the Disney Princess bouncy castle. This event is something we look forward to every year, for being in such a small little town they really do a great job. Everyone from all over comes to celebrate Kids! It was originally scheduled for May, which is a cooler month for us, but it was postponed until June due to bad weather, so as you can guess it was HOT! Kate and Caleb didn't seem to mind. Caleb had a great ride in the stroller while big sister participated in all the activities. Caleb was a good sport, he didn't fuss a bit. If you ask Kate what was her favorite thing to do was she would tell you the pony ride, that will make Gramma Mott smile. Kate loves Gramma's horses. I had a great time watching Kate play and enjoy herself, we had a great time! Jerry maned the camera and I filmed with the camcorder, I think we captured everything for the memory books pretty well. At the end of the day Kate was tuckered out and ready for bed, we did quite make it to the fireworks that evening to round up the days events, maybe we will catch it next time.