Sunday, December 27, 2009

It's a beautiful Christmas present...A baby girl!!!!

Yup that is right we had a very special experience this Christmas! Our new little girl was born 6 pounds 8 ounces at 4:37 p.m. on Christmas Eve in a dramatic manner. God was gracious in more ways than we can count because among all the crazy things that happened in the delivery all turned out alright.

We will post more with pictures and story soon, as we are still trying to recover from the magical event.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Where does the time go?

I heard, or maybe read, a good quote recently. It goes something like this, "time flies, but at least you are the pilot." How true. I am amazed though that it is already December 5th.
Our little family has been busy lately. I wish I could call my belly little, it stopped being little a while ago. I am now 34 weeks and I am ready to be done. The feeling of having a basketball under my shirt is easily ignored and forgotten, most of the time, except when I need to tie my shoes while I'm in the car, ouch. It makes a little shelf for Cassidy to prop on when we sit on the couch and she lays her head on my shoulder. Which is by far one of my favorite things that she does. The biggest pain, literally, is the pelvic joint pains. From what I hear, many second and subsequent pregnancies "attack" that region more than firsts. Night are horrible and mornings make me want to cry. I keep my fingers crossed for this little one to want to greet us EARLY!!! I asked my doctor about induction already, she said 39 weeks. Can I last that long?? We'll see. I really appreciate those pain free moments so much more now. I have much more understanding of how hard it much be to get old and lose the ease of a young, healthy body. But that being said, I would go through it all over again, 10 times worse, for the blessing of bringing another child into our family. I so love feeling the baby move around. I like to think s/he is doing pirouettes because of how it feels to me. The funniest part is that I only feel the baby on the right side, never on the left. Cassidy was the same. I "love" when s/he pushes against my pelvic bone and stretches long, weirdest feeling.
I can't believe that in 5 weeks we'll have another little one. That will be crazy, but so much fun. We've transitioned, partially, Cassidy to her new room. She still takes naps in her old room but sleeps at night in the new room with the new crib and mattress. I thought it might be easier if we did it this way for a week or so. So far so good. I am finishing up getting all of her stuff moved in and putting up the curtains today so that it is all set. We've had a lot of moving and reorganizing to do in the lose of our office but it is very much a great step forward.The nursery has less that needs to be done, just getting all the little baby clothes down from the garage and all the accessories that come with an infant, nursing pillows, bath tubs, etc. So much stuff!!! I do love being able to go through everything and get rid of stuff we don't use or need. Thank heavens for DI trailers that come around every three months or so.
Cassidy is growing up... She is such a little jaberwocky. She loves to talk talk talk. It is so cute. Her vocabulary is great. At her 15 month appointment I was asked if she can say 3-5 words besides momma and dadda, oh yeah, probably 15. Plus some that aren't words per se but we know what she means when she makes the sounds. Give her a cell phone or a remote and she'll hold it to her head and really start jabbering. So adorable. I think the cutest are "upee" "cheese" "co-kie" "ba-by" and down comes out "noun-ee".
She is now 31.5 inches tall and about 22 pounds, she wouldn't sit on the scale long enough to get a good measurement. So that puts her in the 80th percentile for height and 20-25th for weight. Her clothes range from 6-9 months (some pants) to 18 months (sleepers) because of the height/weight and cuts. I do love that we don't go through the clothes as quick and she gets lots of use out of them. She loves to walk around the house carrying baskets, purses, and now she likes to carry a blanket. Thankfully it doesn't matter which blanket it is, any will do. She didn't really get mobile with crawling till 12 months and waited till just after 14 to start walking. She does just what I thought she would do, wonder. She'll go from room to room and find something interesting and play with it or carry back to me. She loves being outside and really lets us know when she wants to "go" "out". She'll stand by the door to the garage, holding her blanket, telling us and if we don't "go" "out" she'll sit down and cry or get upset. So cute.
Joe is doing well. Work is work, busy and that is good. We have much to be thankful for in terms of his employment, especially right now.
Next week I'll post pictures.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Getting use out of wedding gifts

I think it really started in high school, my senior year I think. I volunteered to sew about 20 of the girls' costumes for our spirit week skit. Not too difficult, just red sating flapper dresses with a fringe hemline and sequence straps. They didn't turn out too bad.
When I put a sewing machine on my wedding registry I thought no one would buy it for us (me). Can I tell you how shocked, and pleased, and thankful, I was when it showed up at our front door. It has probably been used more than 95% of the gifts we received for our wedding. Even Joe has used it a number of times to patch, repatch, and patch some more a pair of jeans that we refuse to throw out. They make the perfect yard-work-pants.
I thought it would be fun to show (off) a few of the things that I've made.


This is a crib skirt I made for Cassidy's new crib. I had the fabric left over from a failed project and it became the perfect skirt.


Here are the curtains I made for Cassidy's new room. I must have bought and returned ready made curtains three times and couldn't find anything I really liked. I really like the colors and how they tie into the room color. Not really a baby style, but I like them.


I loved this fabric and had to make some pillows.


I made the roman shade, though it still needs to be hung right, as well as the valance.









One of the best baby gifts I received was a Hooter Hider (nursing cover). When I found out they cost about $40 I thought, for $7 worth of materials I could make one of those. So I do, as baby shower gifts.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Surprise!!

I always thought it would be fun to go through a pregnancy and not learn the sex until the moment the baby was born. Initially I was going to not find out but Joe wanted to know for this baby. But he has changed his mind and so we are both going to be surprised in the delivery room. We thought it would be fun to do a few polls. Just 'cuz it's fun to guess all the details knowing you have little control over any of them. Kind of like guessing the new bishopric. :) Have fun guessing and we might throw in a little, albeit cool, treat for someone who gets all three right.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Super great August




We're back!!!
What a great August it's been, I can't believe it's over, in three days. Here's a little run down on what we've been up to.

About mid-August Joe, Cassidy and baby & I went up to the cabin for a full 4 1/2 days. How nice it was to get out of town on a Thursday instead of hitting Friday traffic. We made it up in about 4 1/2 hours (we did hit traffic). Cassidy was great up until the last twenty minutes; she just wanted out of her torture contraption at that point. Once we got out of the car and set up and put her on the floor she was so much happier. We all loved being up there. Joe went fishing a few times, we all went for a few walks, and we took a stroll around the craft fair going on down town. We came home reluctantly but refreshed.

Most of the month I have been busy with the youth summer program, finding family names to take to the temple for baptisms. Being family history consultants (well, married to one) we have keys to our building's family history center so I scheduled hours a few times each week to help those who wanted it. I was ale to get a lot done for Joe and my families when there weren't youth there so it was a very productive month.

The last two Fridays our youth have taken their family names as well as names provided by other members of our ward to do the temple baptisms. In all I am guessing that we did between 420-440 family names!!! While there, I was in go-go-go-mood, always shuttling kids to the right place or taking names to be recorded, grabbing men to help out where needed. Exhausting but so worth every minute. It was amazing to be a part of that as well as having contributed about 80 of our own family names. Now we just have to do everything else.

This was my last time with my Laurels and the young women. I was released last week from the YW program. Our whole YW organization was redone. I think only 3 women still remain. I kind of thought it might happen but I'm still sad to move on to the next calling. Which is... co-teaching with Joe the 12-13 Sunday School class. This will be great, especially when the new one arrives in January. We are excited.

Cassidy turned 1 last week. So amazing that the year has already flown by. She is getting so much personality. She is getting her fourth tooth right now. She finally really picked up the idea of crawling on her knees about 3 weeks ago, no more army crawl. She's still too nervous to venture away from furniture unassisted but she's physically capable. She loves to converse with herself or her toys. I found her with a picture of my friend Marilee's little girl; she was saying 'baybay' (baby). So cute. She's a doll. We are so lucky to have her in our family. We are thankful for her everyday.

I hit 20 weeks this week. I can't believe that we are half way through this pregnancy. We can't wait for this little one to be with us. Yet we can enjoy the last four and a half months with Cassidy alone. I can enjoy the relative ease of shopping at whim just the two of us.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Yeah!!!!!

Let me be the first to say... HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't tell you how grateful I am to live in this country. Having served a mission in a less ___________ (you fill in the blank) country I have never since had a moment of ingratitude for the privilege I have to live here and raise my family in this imperfect yet AMAZING country. The freedom we enjoy to work hard and pursue my own dreams and ideals and (oh no, don't say it, don't say it) prosperity are too die for, literally. Many have and many more will. We live in a choice land and as long as we worship and serve the God of this land, Jesus Christ, we will be blessed. That is the key. There are many problems facing our country (when hasn't there?) and there are many nay sayers but the fact is that the more perfect the people become the better our country will become. The ONLY answer is serving Jesus Christ and becoming like Him. There is no other philosophy, political policy, or means by which we will enjoy the blessings we all desire. Thank you Father in Heaven for creating a land where we can enjoy the Gospel fullness and where we can learn and grow towards becoming like You.

Lots updates:
Cassidy came down with Rosseola this week. A baby with a 103 temperature is no fun. Add to that she got her first tooth on day 3 of the fever. Thankfully both are past us. Just remind me not to let her put my finger in her mouth. Little Miss Razorblade.
I'm almost out of the first trimester and on my goodness the difference a few weeks make. I feel so much better and have more energy.
Cassidy is officially a water baby. She loves to swim in grandma and grandpa's pool, especially when her cousins come to play.
Oh yeah. Cassidy went back to the doctor last week for her weight check. She gained 2 1/2 pounds!! Woohoo!! The doctor was thrilled. She asked what the secret was so that she could tell her other patients. Formula. I finally realized, learned, figured out that I was losing my milk and that Cassidy just wasn't getting enough calories from me. Though there are some aspects of nursing I kind of miss, can I say that a bottle, in some ways, is SO MUCH easier. Now Joe can feed her or we can go places when she gets up and just bring a bottle. The only reason for the switch was she wasn't gaining enough weight. So Cassidy went from the 3rd percentile to the 16th percentile. GO CASSIDY!!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Fun days... usually

Ever since Cassidy was really little she liked to stand, it was difficult to get her to bend her hips to sit. Couple that with the fact that she isn't too keen about being on her stomach, though we tortured her anyway with tummy time. Those two facts lead me to think that she would definitely walk before she crawled. She's been cruising for a few weeks now. She's still fairly tipsy and when she wobbles too much she gets nervous and tentative and will only move if I offer her my hand. (She takes after me in the tentativeness department) She loves to go for walks if you take her hands. The knees don't really bend much when she's walking so she kind of looks like a soldier. This only further strengthened my hypothesis about the skipping crawling and going straight to walking. Well, I may have to admit my error on this one thing.
On Thursday Joe was listening to a message on speakerphone and Cassidy really wanted his phone. Being on her stomach, she grabbed the carpet fibers and pulled herself forward. Instead of using her knees she used the tips of her toes to help her move. It was really cute. And she goes at an angle. We've put her down to practice everyday but she still only goes about two feet before she's done. But she's getting it. Once she can get herself places she'll be more content I think. Not that she's not content but it must be frustrated to see something you want and not be able to get it yourself.
In the midst of all this new movement I have found that I really like the couch, as in laying on the couch, with a pillow and a blanket. I usually get to take a nap during at least one of Cassidy's daily naps. After feeding her and putting her down for a nap a wave of exhaustion usually overtakes me and I am out like a light. I am continually grateful that she naps so well and so often because I couldn't make it through the days otherwise. Couple that with the from-the-moment-I-get-up-to-the-moment-I-go-to-bed nausea I am not the most interactive mommy at the moment, or wife for that matter. Poor Joe (and Cassidy) But as it did while pregnant with Cassidy, this too shall pass, hopefully sooner this time. And yes, I am pregnant!!! Woo hoo. We are super excited. This time I am not finding out the sex so from now on the new baby will be called "the baby". The baby will be arriving in early January so this experience will be different from Cassidy who was a "full third trimester during the heat of summer" baby. Yeah about that difference. What else to say? Really excited! Already stockpiling diapers and wipes, making room change decisions, etc. Can't wait...

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Busy time

I can't believe how quickly things can start piling up.
This week Cassidy turned 9 months. Most of you who have met her know that she's the most precious little thing, little being literally true. She's so dainty, as one nurse called her. Well at her 9 month appointment she weighed in at 15 pounds 3 ounces, only 7 ounces more than she weighed at 6 months. So for now we are trying to pump her full of calories whenever she'll eat. Plus all of a sudden she's a lot more picky about food. So I have to sneak in the fat and calories wherever possible, cheese, olive oil in her veggies, formula instead of water, etc. Kind of stressful.
Yesterday I got my wisdom teeth out. Yuck!!! Can I tell you that I hate the dentist!!!! No offense to dentists. I hate metal touching my teeth, I hate the pulling and scrapping and everything. Cleanings are horrible enough. I had to undergo the procedure with only a local (I had really wanted a general) and hated every minute of it. I even started humming "ding dong the witch is dead", where that came from I don't know. I had to get shot after shot of lidocaine because I am so tolerant of it. I think that is the worst part now is the soreness from all the shots. And I'm limited to tylenol for the pain. Hopefully it'll pass quickly. I will say that I am sick of the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. Thank goodness for pain meds though, I can't imagine what it used to be like to get a tooth pulled or surgery without them.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

To the East and Back

We just got back from our trip out to the east coast to see December's dad in Philly and also to make a side trip to DC. We had a great time there but are glad to be home.
It is amazing to see so many historical sites. It was also very impressive to see how often GOD was mentioned in quotes or inscriptions on or around those historical areas. We took some pictures that will get posted when we get them off the camera.

I am sure my wife will want to post more too so till then ....

Friday, April 24, 2009

Prayers for the broken hearted

I don't know how to start this post or what words to use. My heart is broken for a friend of mine who is going through one of the most heart wrenching experiences possible. I don't know all the details, they aren't important. She gave birth to a son on Easter sunday and today he passed away due to complications from birth. Yesterday when I read her blog telling her friends and family that she and her husband had to make the decision to take him off the respirator I went in and picked up Cassidy and just held her and cried.

All that I ask of you, my friends, is that you add the McEntire family to your prayers. If you are looking for a reason for fasting this upcoming Fast Sunday, please consider them. Most of us have children, can you imagine? Nor can I.

We love you T.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

For all you Californians

Here is a quick link to some information regarding the special election coming up on May 19th. If you live in California I hope that you will read this and do your own research so that you know what will happen if the propositions pass.
Here is a direct link to the CA budget for this year if you'd like to go right there.

Here I am again

I’m back. Like I was saying in the little post below, we are now disconnected and that means updates will be less frequent, though I’d like to make a goal of one a week. What’s new in the Lotz family?
I’ve read a few good books in the last 2-3 weeks, Fahrenheit 451, Liberalism is a Mental Disorder by M. Savage, and last week I finished 1984. I purchased Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin 2 weeks ago and in the few moments I’ve had with tax day I’ve read a couple of chapters, He’s right on the mark. Joe started it and was stopping every few minutes to read a passage to me, it’s awesome. I’d recommend those as well as Christlike Parenting by Dr. Latham, what a wonderful scriptural based parenting book.
What else? Oh I had been working a few days a week at the same tax office I worked at last year. April 15 has come and gone, thankfully. Cassidy would either go with me to the office or Joe would take her with him. I can’t tell you how stressful it was when she was with me, trying to keep her occupied and trying to get her to sleep in the server/back room and trying to get taxes assembled and answering the phone. Oh my goodness, Cassidy LOVED the phone cord. So much so that she became the recipient of the extra phone’s cord. It was cute. I think that now that I’m done with working, she’ll still go with Joe to his office every so often. It’s a nice break for me and a good bonding time for Joe and Cassidy (and Grandpa and Cousins Brian and Theresa who also work in the same office).
Speaking of taxes, Joe and I took Cassidy to the tea party held in Pleasanton Wednesday. What a fun time. The people there were so nice and the signs were a hoot. I think my favorite was “The constitution, another document they never read.” Funny thing was that my YW president was the one holding it. We also ran into Grandpa at the rally. I wish I could have held up a sign saying “Not the governments’ ATM machine.”
For all you California residents, here is a link to information about the propositions up for your vote on May 19. I thought I would link the info because most of the literature coming out isn’t explaining ALL that passage of these propositions entail. PLEASE read this if you care about what happens, either way, in our state.
What else? Here are some new photos of Cassidy and us from the last two months. She is getting so big and yet when people guess her age they often think she is 5-6 months old, so I guess she looks little to others. She’s a champion eater. We’ve given her: carrots (her fav), broccoli, peas, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cheese, bread, butternut squash soup, and applesauce. The only food that she has spit out was the canned peaches. I tried one, they weren’t very good. Often we can’t feed her fast enough. It’s adorable. She’s adorable. She’s starting to learn to pull herself up. If she’s on my lap she knows how to grab my shoulders and pull up. Oh and she’s learning how to feed herself bread and Cheerios. I can’t believe she turned eight months on Monday. Crazy.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Yes, we're still alive

I can't believe it's been almost a month since our last post and way longer since our last family update. We chose to discontinue our internet service for a couple of reasons, the price more than doubled per month and it was stealing too much of our family time. I can't tell you how nice it is to not have that temptation around anymore. I love all the "found" time I have in the evenings especially. Reading is becoming my passion again. I must have read 3 or 4 books since then.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Pay raise

Congress got a pay raise. Did you?

Monday, March 9, 2009

The glorious sun

The sin is out and is nowhere near setting an it's 5:50 pm. That's AWESOME!!!!
I love DST when it means it's lighter later.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Cute story

It's a rainy day today (thank goodness because we NEED the rain). Joe and I checked out a bunch of DVDs from the library and they were due today so after feeding Cassidy I bundled her up in the car and went to take them back so we don't have late fees. Cassidy is good for about 2 hours between naps, beyond that is risking a cranky baby, so I had to rush over. Well on the way home I see the clock and calculate I have about 40 minutes before she'll probably need to go back down, just enough time to hurry to Walmart and pick up a few things. I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that she was kind of zoning and thought I could still make it if I was quick. I drive a little further and look back at Cassidy and see this...








Here is a cute picture of Cassidy in one of her favorite places... her excersaucer. And yes it continues to be a very dangerous place. Two close calls since that first major explosion.








Cassidy is finally getting the hang of sitting by herself on a surface other than a lap. She's so precious.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

What a (little) champ

So Cassidy turned 6 months Friday. She had her appointment yesterday and was awesome. She is 26 1/2 inches long (75th percentile)and weighed in at 14lbs 12 oz, which is less than what she weighed when we went in 3 weeks ago. (She slipped from the 50th to the 25th percentile for weight, oh well that just means she won't grow out of her clothes quite as fast) She still has the "little" head, only 25th percentile but she looks so proportioned. SO DANG CUTE!!!! And those blue eyes... photos to come

She also slept through the night for the first time last night, from 715 to 630 then ate and fell back asleep till 830. What a great feeling. I actually woke up at 430 because my body is so used to feeding her 2-3 times at night. Joe woke up too and as we were going back to sleep we commented on how she hadn't gotten up yet and then... she stirred but went right back to sleep. Crossing the fingers it continues.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Tag, you're it.

So we got tagged. The rules stated, pick the sixth photo from the sixth folder/file in your photo storage, post it and tell the story. Well my sixth folder is of pictures my dad took with my sister's family. I wasn't there so all I know is that it's my nephew John at the beach.
From Drop Box


Here is the sixth photo out of the sixth folder of pictures of us.
From Drop Box

Joe and I walked to the park near our home to meet family for a picnic. We got there first and decided to take Cassidy on the jungle gym. So this is Joe with Cassidy. In the background is the park and part of the back lawn to the elementary school Cassidy will attend. It was a beautiful day and we got to see Great Grandma Rose and Great Aunt Ozzie and Great Uncle Brian and Cousins Maddie and Katie, oh and the little doggie too. Don't forget Grandma.

We tag Cali (can't wait to see the photo, you're taking awesome pictures btw), Kallee, the thrill on berryhill, and ms tagen (i hope its a belly shot).

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

New blog

I have been having a lot of politically inspired thoughts and ideas lately that I've wanted to share with others. But in reading blogs by our friends we have seen that there are some who use the forum to voice ideas and opinions about all that is happening politically while there were others who wanted to steer clear of politics. So I have decided to create a separate blog for those who wish to read and share or politely disagree with my political findings, thoughts, insights, links, etc. The link is to the right.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Beware of the exersaucer

*****WARNING*****
if you don't talk about poopy diapers you might not want to continue reading this post.

Cassidy is finally big enough to use the exersaucer that has graced our living room floor since July (we don't have anywhere else to store it). She had a long nap today and then a bath and I thought, it's 2 pm I think I should have breakfast now. Yup, all I'd had all day was a Dr Pepper I bought while grocery shopping while waiting for the pharmacy to fill a prescription for Cassidy. Nystatin for a nice yeast infection in the neck fold due to all the teething drooling. Back to the story, I figured I'd put her in the exersaucer and get breakfast-lunch made. I got sidetracked and ended up outside pulling weeds. Ask Joe, this is a very common ocurrance, start one task and get sidetracked doing something completely unrelated. If you read doctor's opinions of these great time-finders-for-parents, they usually say 10-15 minutes at a time. So 25 minutes later (I could hear her the whole time talking and babbling) I come in and she wants to get out. So I pick her up and whoof, stinky baby. So I take her back for a diaper change. You have to understand something about Cassidy, she's a once a day or every other day stinky diaper baby. Great for us, but not today. All the pressure of the her being seated for that long after emptying two days worth meant that it had no where to go but up, and out, and through. Oh yes, the worst blowout to date. Add the fact that she's started some solids and yup, nasty pants, onesie, and shirt. Extrication was impossible without spreading the mess. Keeping her hands off the spreading mess and then not touching anything? Nie to impossible. It was on her arms and back and legs and the lap pad we use to protect the changing pad cover, it was on the changing pad cover, and on the wall where she likes to hit while being changed. Gross gross gross. So into the shower we went, I wanted to feel clean too. And then while I was trying to get a diaper on her she decided to pee on herself. B-e-au-tiful.
So what's my point? Beware of the exersaucer if it's been a day since the last stinky diaper. Just wait.

PS I thought about taking pictures, but I figured anyone with kids would know what I'm talking about and those without don't need the visual.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Teeth

Guess what we learned on Saturday? Cassidy is getting TWO teeth. Both her bottom front teeth are starting to poke up. She doesn't often show her gums, usually the tongue comes out, but she did at one point Saturday night and I noticed the little white dot on the right side. Upon further examination I noticed another one on the left side, only a little less developed. Crazy, huh? The 11 month old doesn't even have teeth yet. So I'm not all that excited about the prospect of teeth because of the past incidents of clamping down during nursing. Today there was much biting down during feeding time, so I would press on her check in an attempt to get her to loosen her grip on me. Does anyone have any suggestions for the biting and how to best deal with the emergence of teeth in a nursing baby? Any thoughts would be great.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Our Weekend in the SNOW

This past weekend we spent with the Stemmons family in the snow at our parents' cabin near Truckee. It was a very fun weekend! We were sad to leave and come back to reality.
Joe and I learned a lot about kids and relationships during the 4 days. There are 4 kids in the Stemmons family which is twice as many as either of us have in our families. There was a 5 month old, an 11 month old, a 3 year old, a 5/6 year old and a 7 year old. I babysat my 5 cousins for 8 days straight back before my mission so I had some previous experience with lots of kids for a few day but that was when I was a greenie and not a wife or mom and when I thought I knew everything, oh wait I still do, just kidding, sort of. We were all packed into a 3 bedroom "cabin." but when each family gets it's own floor I guess you can't use the term "packed". We had a few meltdowns (kid and adult) but for the most part everyone got along great. Even Cassidy did really well. The other time we took her up there was not the greatest experience. You can read about it in the October post. This time she slept like a dream and didn't need to be held all night long. Oh thank goodness we figured out that a nice fuzzy blanket under her head she can nuzzle helps her to fall asleep quick. Can I say how grateful I was to be up there with people who know and understand about naps and sleep schedules and don't pressure you to go do stuff when you know that it's nap time.

There was rain the first full day and then snow the second day. The kids had seen snow on the ground before but this was their first time seeing the snow fall from the sky. So to say they enjoyed it is an understatement. Joe and Danny (Stemmons) built a super sled run for the kids. It ran through the whole front yard and almost into the neighbors' yard. I loved watching the kids go down the run but the 3 year old was the cutest. She was perfectly balanced on the dish and had the biggest smile on her face as she went down the hill and when she went up the little bump she caught the most air. The little pompom on her hat would hang in the air just a little longer and I can't describe it adequately. I wish I had that on tape but of course my batteries died. Here are some photos of the kids mostly. It's all for the kids, right?

Thursday, January 22, 2009

there are no accidents

Joe and I watched KunFu Panda the other night, so cute. There are no accidents is a line from the movie. I had a great little experience yesterday that I wanted to share just because it made me think about all the little things that some take as accidents or coincidences that really aren't.
So yesterday I had a HUGE desire to make a bread recipe I had been thinking about doing for weeks now, Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Bread. I even bought poppyseeds to make it, something I have never done before. Well I decided to just have the bread machine make the dough and then I'd split it up into small loaves, bake them in my oven, glaze them, then take one over to a lady in our ward who had a baby on Sunday morning, her fifth but first girl. So I did. Can I tell you how good it turned out? I HAD to taste one loaf before I could give the others away. Oh my oh my. The bread wasn't super lemony or sweet but with the glaze it was tart yet sweet enough and so good. I wrapped up two of the loaves and headed off the her house.
I hoped that she would be there just so that I could say hi. When I got there, she answered the door holding her new little Sarah. She invited me in and let me hold her little girl. She handed her to me and I felt like she had put an empty blanket in my arms. Her little girl was 5lbs7oz at birth and had weighed in at 5lbs even at her color check the day before. Then she told me that earlier in the day she had gone to Costco with her husband. As she was walking around she saw Lemon Cakes. She was sorely tempted to get one because she really likes Lemon cake but didn't really want to get a whole one because she's the only one in her family that really likes them. So she didn't get one. Then I show up with Lemon Poppy seed Bread. Who'd have known? I felt good that I could do something for her that was something that she'd like without even knowing. Little promptings to take actions don't have the have any real long lasting impact, sometimes they are just because it'll make someone happy even for only a short time. Plus I got to hold Sarah. My reward for doing something nice. Lemony warm fuzzies for me today. :)

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

humm

Unfortunately I can't say I didn't expect this. Just to make it clear, my position is to fight for those voices who are NEVER heard, the babies. Read the article that was written in the Ensign, so good. Then in this month's magazine is an article on adoption from the points of view of birth parents, birth grandparents and an adult who was adopted. Made me cry, espeically because I was adopted and had a birth mother who fought the birth father's parents so that she could give me to a family she knew could give me what she wanted most for me. Adoption is so much about love for a child as opposed to love of self. I know that it is not the right answer every time, but when it is the right answer, it shows great love and courage.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

FOOD!!!!

So Miss Cassidy got her first taste of rice cereal last week. She did surprisingly well. She made the cutest faces, like she'd eaten something sour, but swallowed it down, no gagging or choking or spitting out. I had mixed in the liquid vitamins with it the first couple of times, I think that accounted for the faces. The vitamins smell yucky, I can only imagine how it tastes. Today I just used water. She made the faces a couple of times than started grabbing my arm to pull the spoon into her mouth. SO CUTE!! She even got upset when she was all done with the little cup of cereal. I'll post a photo tomorrow.
She also started doing raspberries yesterday. Oh my goodness, is it adorable. It almost seems like she moves the saliva to her lips just to make more noise. Our little doll is so much fun!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Crazy

Wow. The holidays are over. Can I say that I am glad? I am. Having two weeks of messed up schedules really put us back in terms of Cassidy’s sleeping, and ours as well. But to be fair, Christmas was wonderful with our little family. We partied with my dad’s family Christmas Eve and then spent Christmas morning and afternoon with “the parents” (Joe’s parents) and my dad. The siblings were not able to come down so we, well Cassidy, had the spotlight. We then spent the evening with some friends, playing a little Guitar Hero and Settlers. It was a nice. I don’t remember ever spending any part of Christmas with friends. NYE was uneventful and that was nice.
I was on my way to the store today to buy her some long sleeve onesies since it’s so cold and she just out grew her 3-6 month ones. About two blocks from the house I thought, “We have 3 boxes of 6-9 and 6-12 month cloths in the closet, I wonder if there are any in there. I should check before I go buy some.” You see, as the last of our family to have kids we have been the recipient of a TON of clothes. Cassidy has more clothes than I know what to do with. I have given some away because, come on, she doesn’t go through them that fast. But anyway, I go back home and get into the boxes. Holy smokes!!! About a dozen long sleeve onesies, plus short sleeve onesies, pants, pajamas, sweaters, dresses, and shirts. All I can say is, THANK YOU for all the clothes. We don’t want for anything, that’s for sure. I can’t wait to dress her up in all the clothes. I can’t wait till it’s warm enough to wear them without having to bundle up over the top.
Cassidy has had an eventful week, developmentally speaking. She started transferring objects from one hand to the other. The last week or so she has been very interested in what we are doing when we eat. She started to reach out for our cups and silverware. So I thought I would see if she would feed herself. I gave her her bottle and she held it really well, so today we gave her a cup. I put in about an ounce of water and gave it to her. Most went down her clothes but she held it and brought it to her mouth all by herself. Tonight she was trying to attack Joe’s pizza while he was eating so to keep Joe from giving her a bite of that, I handed her a quarter of a graham cracker. She LOVED it. She gummed it up, got it all over her face, cried when Joe took it away until he gave it back, and thoroughly enjoyed it. And she did it all by herself. I think it’s time for cereal on a daily basis.