Joe and December's World

princesses

2012-01-17T21:28:00.000-08:00

We are a girl house, no doubt. Last night we celebrated the Lotz family anniversaries all together. So much fun to see cousins, especially when the older cousins pass on dress up clothes. Up till now there has been no dress up stuff, though you'd never know it with Cassidy seeming to always come out of her room in a new dress. Well these new clothes are princess with a capital pm tulle skirts, crowns, sceptors, princess heeled shoes... Cassidy was in heaven. I'll have to upload pictures later. Molly had fun at first with a dress then was done with it. But she loved the shoes and the wand. At one point Cassidy was trying to get the pointy hat with tulle hanging from the point to stay on molly's head. App I could do was laugh. Molly only had the hat, shoes, and a diaper one. All I could think was troll, allbeit a very cute garden gnome. Gnome, not troll. Wrong creature.the girls are going to enjoy those dresses. Cassidy kept carrying the spare pairs on shoes around. On the wand. Too funny.Julia is getting to be a little cutie, capital c. What a doll. Seriously. I love that girl. She does this warthog face sometimes and breathes in and out of her nose loudly. So funny. She'll make the sweetest faces. I call her my spider monkey. Sometimes when j go to pick her up she'll get get legs all ready to wrap around me. I love her snuggles. Molly decided to sit in a square (maybe 6 inch) Tupperware today. Surprised she fit. Again, only wearing a diaper. Then she decided to practice toga and do downward dog, with her head in the aforementioned Tupperware. Hilarious. She's having sleeping issues:/ the last two nights. Little one wakes up and cries and cries. I comfort her but she does it again. In fact no one wanted to sleep tonight. They must have known I was trying to get out to see daddy play stake basketball at 7. He made two or three shots tonight:D Oh and there is one know. Crazy bow they just have nights.we are all healthy and that is such a blessing. the last two weeks at church I have been the only nursery leader. I am the only nursery leader now. The primary pres is trying to get volunteers to fill in until someone is called and accepts. It is way hard to fill that position. It seems like no one wants to do it. The ones who seem like they would do week are already in other positions. We only have 11 right now, only. But it's better than 21 like in December. I love the kids. I saw one at basketball tonight. So adorable. I don't get much out of church these days though, with having to leave Sacrament mtg to nurse Julia before nursery. But I do love those little tykes. Cassidy is not taking real well to her sunbeams class. It surprises me because usually she has no problem going places or being with other kids. She knows the teachers and kids but has a rough time going. That will change though, eventually.

still sick

2011-12-19T20:50:00.000-08:00

Cassidy first got sick the week before Halloween, she has been sick ever since. Then Joe got sick about two weeks later. The others caught it almost a month ago. I finally caught something else about ten days ago. Can I say how sick of being sick/taking care of sick people I am? I need a break. We all need to get healthy and stay well for a little while before the next wave hits. Is that too much too ask? And its only begun. The kids aren't even in school yet. What am I going to do when they are bringing home illnesses left and right? Lately I have been thinking a LOT about our garden. I caught the garden hug. I have already ordered my seeds for this coming year. Crazy. I am so excited to get in the dirt. I found some really motivating books and am ready to go. Maybe having been in that little condo last summer made me appreciate our yard even more. It isn't ideal, not enough sun, but it works for now. In a few years, when the kids are little older we will turn our front yard into a garden (tons of afternoon sun). Even talking about it makes me smile and get antsy. . Julia is crawling up a storm. She can pull up on the furniture, loves to climb over things, and she can go up the stairs by herself. We had to put the gate back up to block off the stairs. She is the happiest little cutie pie. I love when I get slone time with her. The way she rounds her back and snuggles in is so adorable. She is such a delight. . Molly is a little grumpy right now because she's sick but she is a sweet heart. She has this way of canoodling her way on to my lap when I am sitting feeding Julia. All if a sudden there she is, getting into everything. She has the sweetest face and when she'll keep a rubber band or clip in she is so precious. . Have you seen finding memo? Remember the seagulls? Mine. mine. Mine. mine. Well, Cassidy and molly do a mean seagull impression. I have to keep from laughing when they do it. They love each other. When I think of what life would be like if molly wasn't here (if we had waited longer between kids) I think Cassidy would have missed out on so much. Those two squabble sure but they miss each other and love to be together. . Cassidy is so three years old. She loves to tell us how she doesn't want to do what we tell her to do. Oh and the crying. I chalk that up to the illness :S but it's probably just a foreshadowing of things to come. She loves her family and gives such wonderful hugs. I can't believe that she is going to be in sunbeams in two weeks. Crazy. . Christmas is Sunday. Wow. I hope we are better by then.

Photos at last

2011-11-10T20:29:00.001-08:00

Life is hectic for all of us. Here are some photos that I have been meaning to upload. Some before and afters of the house. Some halloween costumes for the kids. And some cute recent random ones.

Sometimes I forget my wife's not perfect

2011-10-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

So I came home the other day to find that my oldest daughter had a need of a bath because she got a cup of milk spilled on her head, which is kinda funny because she is always spilling it all over. I will leave it up to your imagination on how it happened because I don't even know.
My wife has been great these past few weeks. More amazing and capable than I think she gives herself credit. Sadly there are no awards or promotions for doing a great job in raising children...but here is a little something to say I appreciate and love you:
@>-%--

supposed to be a rose ^^

cupcakes

2011-10-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

Cassidy is now in a big girl bed. She finally earned it and the duvet cover finally arrived in the mail and so she has progressed. So cute to see her wearing the jammies that match the duvet cover, she kind of blends in. I even broke down her crib and put it in the storage room until Molly needs it. It all seems so big girlish now. She and the rest of the senior nursery will be singing I am a Child of God in the primary program in a couple of weeks. Craziness.
molly is starting to talk a lot more. She sounds a little muffled like she was hearing underwater but it is a start. She is letting me put clips in her hair and she will keep them in throughout the day. She looks so cute with her hair pulled back from her face. What a dear heart.
Julia cut her first tooth Tuesday. She started inch worming on Wednesday. And she is a pro at sitting. She is talking up a storm. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. I am nervous about the teeth thing. This is the first time I have nursed a baby with teeth. With Cassidy and Molly they were weaned before they got teeth. She is getting into the go go go phase. She wants me to hold her but always squirming around trying to spy the girls.
Joe is doing a lot of fishing lately. He is in a bass club and is liking it. We are almost done with the house. Finally. I need to upload photos.
I was called into nursery last week. We have 17, soon to be 19, in nursery. Usually 15 or so are there. Fifteen makes three seem much easier.

indoor plumbing... when size matters

2011-09-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

Eight o'clock at night is not the best time to start a plumbing project, a soldering plumbing project mind you, in the bathroom next to your sleeping one and three year olds. We learned the almost hard way. We didn't stop until after 1100 and were not even done. Five compression valves and two shower trims beat us until this morning. We had to shut off the water while we worked so it was a race against time to finish. But alas, the toilet upstairs is installed (tonight's project), the showers up and downstairs now are operable, though there are no shower doors upstairs yet, and the sinks are ready to be connected upstairs, except the vanity isn't done. Not bad for six hours of work for two people. The biggest issue was that we cut the pipes and bolts too short to make our work easy. Better to start off too long than to start too short.
How many projects do you have going?? I have started at least five and I hardly have time to progress with any. I have to remind myself not to start anything else because I just don't have time. I want so badly to finish the roman shade I started for our dining room, alas I have sewn one seam and finally picked a lining. The bench, well I have sanded parts and have dismantled it. It still needs more sanding and to be stained and sealed. The girls' scrapbooks have not been touched since December I think. At least I have photos printed already. The photos of ancestors need to be taken, printed, laminated and copied to group sheets. Etc ... I find that I spend most of my children in bed hours doing house work that didn't get done while the kids were awake. With every picture frame that is put out I feel like our house is closer to being the homey place I would like. I just would like a little more time to do more.
I am sorry if this sounded like a complaining post. It wasn't supposed to be. I am so glad we got so much done in the bathrooms in the last two days. Sometimes I would just like to feel like I completed something instead of just progressing on it. But there will always be more to add to the to do list right?
I had fun watching the older girls play in about an inch of water in the barely inflated baby pool today. They were having a blast. And how molly would run over to me so that I could squirt her with the water as I washed off our patio. Julia loves the girls. Those two make her laugh something fierce. I love watching Cassidy dance around and humm. And she calls molly "molly manomi" instead of molly Naomi and calls Julia "bajulia". But when Joe called cass "Cassidy shelackalacka lots" instead of Cassidy Shea she got serious and said "that's not my name". Those girls are dolls. I love them.

sick and it's 100 outside

2011-09-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

All the girls ended up with a cold last week. The cranky runny nose type. What fun. Cassidy first then the other two joined on Friday, right in time for daddy to be gone fishing overnight. We stayed home yesterday from church, the lots girls that is while daddy went. The nursery would definitely have said No Thank You to them. I hate missing church, even for legit reasons like sick kids. At least I had women's conference Saturday night. Wasn't it awesome!!! Hello segue way to the higher law of visiting teaching. I have had the best vter ever, merlieee, and some not so great ones. I have been good and not so good at being a vter. I will do better. I have had the best vter who was really the vtee, Anne. Many examples to help me know better how to be better.
So little miss Julia is talking up a storm these days. My bet... She will be a talker like Cassidy. Hut you never know till after right? Oh and there is molly awake. Speaking of awake miss Cassidy made a couple appearances last night, at 130 and 500 am, she wanted to play. Hmmm no. Its time to Sleep. Its getting old. She's been doing this for a number of days now. Awwwwwwww. Whatdo I do?

life

2011-09-06T23:06:00.000-07:00

Cassidy turned three a couple of weeks ago. We had a party for her at our house. Lots of kids and their parents. It was so nice to see everyone.
Ever since it seems like we have been busy, but at home. Lots of people have dropped by to see the house and we have had a bunch of play dates. So nice after practically nothing at the little house.
Julia is sleeping much better. Ten to 12 hours a night, getting up only one time. Up from eight hours at the little house. She is learning to fall asleep in her own, yeah
She is six months now, crazy flying time. I started her on oatmeal cereal, she loves it. From the first bite she has been awesome. Oops I was going to buy some squash tonight, maybe I'll make her carrots tomorrow.
House is coming along. The two bathrooms are still in progress. Can't wait till they are done. The granite for one is in our garage. It would be good to get that in asap.
I was able to pull out my cute clothes today. All the pre kid clothes that I haven't been able to wear much in the last three and a half years. Because we don't plan on talking about baby #4 until next spring or summer it is nice to know i will be able to wear them for more than a month or two, like before with Molly and Julia.
Joe had his over night fishing trip with buddies last week. He's been sick ever since. Yucky.
I guess i should go to bed. Its 1120 and i always regret the next day when i stay up late, even if i am enjoying me time.

there's no place like home

2011-08-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

We just signed our little house away. Thank goodness we never have to go back again. We are 100% moved out and maybe 50% moved in but that is wonderful. Right now I am sitting at the top of the stairs with Julia making sure that Cassidy stays in her room and out of molly's crib. At the ripe old age of three years minus one week she was finally learned how to climb out of a crib. Joy. So now we get to learn how to stay on your own bed. Item number one on tomorrow's list of to do is put her door knob on. Today was the door, tomorrow the knob. Sitting here looking down the upstairs hall , oops there's the crib escape artist now... Let the cries for potty and milk begin... Next the screaming... Oh the joys of parenthood. I can't believe we moved out on may 11 and moved back in August 11. Three months and 840 square feet later. My sanity is a little shaken, some days I barely survived, some nights I wanted to (and did) scream, but here we are with room for us now and to grow. Some nights I seriously, well not so seriously, questioned my desire to have more kids. The stress of not having enough room Nnd trying to not disturb the little boy that slept on the same wall as Julia, never being able to have a schedule... Hopefully its over now. We are home, at long last. I love our 'new' house.

Breaking out

2011-08-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

It's set, we move out of this cage on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then go to the cabin for a few days then... WE MOVE HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited. Beyond words. Our house will be about 90% done when we move in. A few things will get done in the coming months that are mandatory for the final inspection and a few things will wait till next year. In truth we have hit the end of the money and so as to not finance more than the absolute minimum we are delaying stuff till we get more dinero. A nice benefit? Having to think of better, less expensive solutions for "issues" or options that come up. Like... curtains on the girls' closets instead of doors (have you seen how much fun it is for a 2 year to slam the bi-pass doors against the wall?). $25 curtains instead of $150 blinds, for each girl's window. It would be nice to have everything done before moving in, but hey that is homeowner-ship, it's never ALL done, ever.

Life

2011-07-25T09:44:00.000-07:00

Here are a few recent pictures.
We are almost done with the house. Just two more weeks. Thank goodness. I am sick of trying to pick paint colors. I need to just decide and be done with it. But it is so hard when those tiny paint strips are so different from a room painted in the color.
The girls are as cute as ever. Sometimes I feel inadequate to be a mother. I get so impatient by the end of the day, and by the end of the week I am toast. I hate that I am not better than I am and that is sometimes a self fulfilling prophesy I bet. The girls are so much fun, especially one-on-one. They are different in many ways and I really enjoy seeing them be themselves fully when alone.
Julia is getting bigger, well, mostly longer. She's longer and lighter than the older girls were at 4 months. She's learning how to be a cat. The other day she started crying, vocalizing differently. It was funny watching her do it because I could see her trying to hit a high pitch than normal. I even got it on film. I'll post that later.
Joe had a fun day of fishing last week. He and a friend went kayaking in the delta from 530 am to 5 pm. He came home looking like a lobster in spots. Oops. They each caught 13 fish, but being the delta they didn't keep any to eat. Joe had a good experience with prayer. One of his poles feel in the water and sunk. But after praying and searching for about 15 minutes he was able to find it in about 7 feet of water. Sometimes we do find what we have lost.
Hopefully I'll find my brain soon...
A fun note. We were able to upgrade our camera this month. My old one fell out of the diaper bag. After that it was never the same, it couldn't focus half the time I tried to use it so we purchased a new one. Half the price and twice the megapixels. I love technology advances. :) The picture of Julia on the reddish couch is with the old camera, and the other ones are with the new one. Can you tell?

Put a fork in me

2011-07-13T12:36:00.001-07:00

I am so done. So very done with living in this townhouse-apartment-summer house whatever you want to call it. Thankfully our house is in the home stretch. I told Joe I have three weeks left in me, if that. At that point I need to be out of this place. He called me yesterday and asked about how long until we anticipate being ready to move out. He mentioned six weeks, I cried. There just isn't enough rooms where I can put our three girls for naps, especially Julia. Three days in a row that I have tried for more than two hours to get her to sleep in the morning and haven't succeded until I was able to get the older girls down for the their noon naps. By that time the baby is screaming, the girls are wild, and I am near tears if not in tears.
Cassidy is up... i'll finish later

It's later and all the kids are in bed, whether asleep or not, we shall see.

This afternoon I had to get out of this place. I got the kids in the car and just drove away. I ended up taking us by our "big house"... and there is julia crying. shoot me now please. Just put me out of my misery.

ja dura

2011-06-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today we received a card in the mail from my mission president('s wife). I had the best mission president and wife. My original mission call was to Portugal Lisbon South, which included the Cape Verde islands. Before I entered the MTC it was announced that the islands would be separated and become its own mission. While in the MTC the mission president for the Cape Verde mission was named, Daryl Hobson. I remember joking with my companions about how close his name was to my father's Darryll Dodson and how it would be funny if he were to be my president. But we all thought there would be no way that we'd get called to Cape Verde. Yet a few days before leaving we found out that two of the three of us would be going to Cape Verde. From the first time I met President and Sister Hobson I knew that they were special. They were, they are. I always enjoyed the opportunities I had to talk to them and get to know them. I especially felt a connection with Sister Hobson. She was like a mother to me while I was there. My mother had died 6 months before I left on my mission so I really needed someone and Sister Hobson was amazing. I will always be grateful for them.
I stopped by our house today. It was kind of deflating. It's a disaster. Hand prints all over the walls. Dirt. Holes. Water. And what is up with the weather? More rain today. The house had to be tarped. Please no more rain. But it is progressing. Two steps forward and one step back.
The older girls are asleep right now and Julia is here on the couch with me. She's smiling and cooing and kicking the laptop. I love this age; it is so adorable. She just looks like she's trying to talk to me. She is so beautiful and such a doll. Cassidy never took to a pacifier or sucked her thumb, Molly only started sucking her thumb at about 9 months and still does but never took a pacifier, Julia is already jawing her fingers all the time. So interesting how they each found their own thing, in their own time.

Too many brushstrokes

2011-06-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

Ever seen Amadeus? Too many notes is the original quote. My mother-in-law is an artist and so we sometimes use 'too many brushstrokes' to mean that she's overworked a painting. The funny thing is I typed 'brushstrokes' up above thinking that was the original wording, it wasn't until I mentioned Amadeus that it hit me that he didn't use brushstrokes. Oh the mommy-isms.
What a wonderful day. Beautiful weather. The baby got a good 3-hour morning nap, all the girls are asleep, Joe is out buying ice cream and renting a movie. Oh yeah.
We spent an hour or so this afternoon looking at bath fixtures. We need shower valves for the two bathrooms being done for Monday. This is the 'too many brushstrokes' connection. Too many choices. The girls lost it before we could buy anything. Good thing too because after getting the girls down I went online and found our favorites for loads cheaper. Gotta love Amazon. And with Prime there was no shipping fee to get two day delivery. AWESOME!!! Stinky thing is that the valves aren't included with the fixtures so we still have to buy those, and those can't be here until Tuesday, at least. Unless we can find a local store that carries them. Oh well. What can you do? My brain is still fried from the store shopping and the amazon/internet price finding mission. Next, fans... joy. We already hired a babysitter this week to get and look. Now we need to buy. Too many choices. Not so fun anymore.

Junuary

2011-06-20T20:30:00.001-07:00

So what is up with the weather?? It rained during the first few days of June and now it's in the 90s. Craziness.

What is happening with us. I am getting more accustomed to a small condo. Julia still is the victim of too few rooms but is being nice and giving me sporadic nights where she sleeps all night. I actually got two in a row this weekend. Very nice indeed. Molly is a little spitfire. She loves to climb on the kitchen table and look at herself in the mirror we have hanging on the dining room wall. She still isn't saying a whole lot but she loves to jabber more and more. She does know the word 'more' and is good at using it when she wants more food. Molly loves the pool and had been walking right off the edge up until this last weekend. My mother-in-law bought the girls flotation vests and for some reason Molly has mellowed out since she's been using hers. Its wonderful. Cassidy used to hang out on the steps in the pool but now that she has her vest she will actually let go of us and kick herself around the pool. It's amazing how fast she changed. Those vests were a great purchase. Thank goodness for pools and air conditioning.

Our house is coming along. The upstairs framing is done. The roof tresses are up. The plywood is up along the roof and second story. Joe said the guys were prepping for the drywall inside the upstairs today. This week the roof and foundation get done. It actually looks like a real house now.

Molly goes to nursery officially this Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She so needs it. I've been in there with her the last couple of weeks. That was so much easier than staying in the halls with her running around. She'll do just fine there I am sure. There are 13 kids in nursery I believe, lots of buddies to play with, including Cassidy.

What else? I can't wait to move back home. I miss having my own yard, and a room for each girl, and just space, and our neighbors.

A little explanation about this one. I had fed Molly half of a yogurt and then gave her the remaining yogurt to feed herself. She started out eating it with a spoon, then started using her hand to eat it, then she decided to put it in her hair. I let her go at it for a few minutes before I took her for an impromptu bath. Banana yogurt stinks... yuck.

Mental and Physical stretching

2011-06-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

When the brethren mentioned in conference that a little stretching is good and helps us grow I wasn't prepared to be growing so much so fast. :o) It has been one thing after another...Cassidy's foot injury (trip to ER), Molly drinking aphrin (trip to ER), Joe getting sick (wanting to go to ER), or Julia crying (waking everyone from our house to the ER).

Ok well it's really faith building (nice way of saying hard) but we "just keep swimming" just like Dory.

If my wife reads this...Hun, I love you and you are a great partner in this journey.

framed

2011-06-09T02:05:00.000-07:00

We are moving along now that rain stopped. June 5th, the last day of rain, 1/10th of an inch. NUTS! Oh well. The second floor is at least half way framed out. Amazing to see it take shape so quickly at this point. Pictures to come.
I'm tired of our little place. No where to sleep the little one, only three rooms in the whole place, so she isn't getting enough sleep :/. But what can I do??
We need a back yard again. And a ...
I love my family and can't believe they are mine. What sweet little girls and what a hubby.

where'd that come from??

2011-05-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Well it rained... in our house... we came home to standing water on our floors... oh well i guess... what can you do?? Pray for no more.

No roof... please no rain

2011-05-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

Construction is going. We have no roof, no stucco, no ceilings, no kitchen cabinets, etc. Yesterday was the last time I saw it from the outside. Compared to the other second story additions in our sub-division our yard and house look awesome mid-construction. So neat and tidy. That I am sure makes the neighbors happy and oddly instills confidence for our choice of contractors. We've had a week long snag on the foundation but hopefully the city will sign off of Tuesday or Wednesday and we can get moving again.
Check out the House projects photo slideshow updates.

Where was I?

2011-05-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

While I was in the MTC one of my teachers showed a video of Elder Jeffery R Holland. His words touched me and during my initial weeks in Cabo Verde, they made the difference. Since then I have found his words and messages of special comfort.
While browsing the net today I watched a Mormon Message based on a talk he gave at the April 2009 general conference. I then watched that very talk. I don't remember hearing this talk before, where was I when he originally gave it ? How powerful his testimony of Christ is, how tender his feelings and emotions are. How comforting the message is and how inspiring. Here it is. Watch it. You'll be glad you did, I am.

Move it

2011-05-17T12:34:00.001-07:00

Cassidy really likes the movie Madagascar, or the 'lion movie' as she calls it. I didn't realize how much until about a week ago when Joe and I were sitting on the couch after the girls were down and we hear her start singing, 'i like to move it move, i like to move it move it...'. It was so cute. She's done it a few times since then and it's funny every time. I especially like it when she changes her voice while singing, going deep and then going high.
I really like going to Target and scoping out the baby and kid sections, you never know what amazing deal you will find, if any. This last time, I found something I've been wanting for a few years now, a Moby wrap. All it is is a LONG length of fabric that you wrap around you in different ways to carry your baby. Not wanting to spend the $40 they cost, I actually tried to make one after Cassidy was born, but I couldn't find the right material. Well, last week I went to Target and there was one on the end cap with a clearance tag on it because it was an online purchase that someone returned to the store. Guess how much?? $10.06!!!! Of course I bought it, of course I am using right now. Julia wasn't hip on it when I tried it on for the first time yesterday, but today was/is wonderful. She's been asleep for almost an hour, and the wrap is super comfy. No backache or shoulder issues. I LOVE it! I wish I'd had one with the other girls. The only draw back is it is black and thick, so in the sun it might get uncomfortable, but being in the shade is better anyway. So it's all good. I have had so many great purchases from the clearance area at Target.

Life

2011-05-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent photos.
These first ones are from Julia's blessing day. My mother-in-law made her dress and bonnet. She did a wonderful job. I think that the series of photos are pretty accurate about life with three under three. Good luck getting them all to hold still and smile at the same time.

This is a cute video of the girls. They are such fun, usually.

Our neighbor gave Cassidy her daughter's bicycle helmet. Cassidy did not want to take it off for days. Same with her bathing suit top, she called it her sun suit. So cute.

Mother's Day was fun. We had dinner at my in-laws, the girls had fun playing in the water fountain, and I didn't have to cook. Lovely.
We are adjusting to our new summer place. I should look at it like we are on vacation for the next few months. I have the girls playing musical rooms for sleeping. Molly takes her nap and goes to bed at night in a pack-n-play in our room. Cassidy sleeps in her crib in the other room. Once it is dark outside and the girls have been sleeping a while at night, we move Molly into her crib in the same room with Cassidy. After the first night when it took the girls over two hours to go to sleep and the second night took almost an hour, I made the executive decision that they could not go down for bed in the same room. This way they both get more sleep. Poor Julia gets what ever is left, upstairs or downstairs, in a pack-n-play or on our bed. I feel for her. I have always been big on sleep for the girls and it is just so much harder to get her the sleep she needs than it was for the other girls. Partly because of the two older girls and partly because we don't have a good spot that she can go whenever she does go to sleep.
We signed a contract with a contractor we both really like. It is only, at this point, to get the exterior done and up to the texture on the interior. He has it in the contract that it should take about eight weeks!! Wouldn't that be amazing??? We will probably hire him to complete everything, so I am hoping for the end of July, beginning of August for us to move back in. That would be so awesome. There is another house in our sub-division that is in the process of adding a second story. I notice the framing this week. Because we've been back to the house almost everyday I've been able to see the progress. It's amazing how quickly that part precedes. I am excited to see it on our house.
Julia is a smiler. I love it when she sees me and breaks out into a huge smile. It is so wonderful to know that she knows me and is happy to see me.
Here are some more photos. Enjoy.

moved out

2011-05-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

As I have never really moved I had no idea how difficult it would be, especially with three kids and us not taking everything. We had the elders, one friend, and one other from our ward come help. Thank goodness each showed up. I don't know what we would gave done without each of them. There are things we still need to go back for. We still gave a ton of prep work before construction starts but we are out.
I can tell you this
if we are ever not previously engages with something that can't be missed we will be helping whenever we know someone moving. What an ordeal. What a load of stress. Julia was great yesterday and awful today. She would not stay asleep for mire than two minutes it seemed. I hope things go better when we move back home. At least I'll know to pack a kid bag with food, sippies, utensils, and toys. I was so unaware and so unprepared. Next time...

need diapers??

2011-04-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

So I was recently fortunate to find an amazing deal on diapers on Amazon.com, size 4 pampers 176 count for 29.99. I only bought one box because it was in the "used" section. Of course I received a brand new, slightly damaged box of diapers. I should have gone back and bought more at that price, they are now up to 34.99. Well.
If you need size one, oh my goodness. Awesome deal, the ginormous size box, 200 plus for 14.99, no sales tax, no shipping if you buy two or more. The size two box is only 18.99, same about sales tax and shipping. Just go to Amazon and search diapers. The ones on sale are the pampers swaddlers sensitive. Awesome right? If only I didn't already have so many of both those sizes I could justify buying some. But at least I can pass on the deal. Check asap I am sure the deal won't last long.

Let the fun and games begin...

2011-04-23T03:38:00.000-07:00

I don't know what got us started today but we started packing up stuff in anticipation for our move coming up. We photographed, catalogued, and took down all the paintings off our walls. We carefully put all 26 or so of them in my van and took them to the in-laws to be stored while we are under construction. What a difference in our home already, the walls are bare and everything has a different feel. I also got a couple things boxed up and put in the garage.
Kind of crazy to finally be getting ready to really start this huge project. Can't wait!!! I've never moved as a kid or since we've been married so I don't know all the fun of moving a household, but as we are only taking minimal stuff with us I am thinking this move won't be that bad, even with three young kids... We'll see.
Can I just say, whoever said babies who are nursed don't have smelly poops never met our girls. I am up with Julia and she just farted...oh man. :) Cross my fingers she stays asleep when she is done.

Six weeks and Counting --- Our little combustion

2011-04-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

Six weeks and counting. There haven’t been any six hour night sleep stretches in a long time. Most nights we are down to 2 or 2 ½ at most, many are even less. The more I look at the difficulties inherent to having children, i.e. lack of sleep, terrible twos, etc, the more I see our relationship to God in miniature as well as opportunities to become more like Christ. Like the lack of sleep, we get the difficult opportunity to learn how to be kind, patient, long suffering, and charitable while we are sleep deprived and prone to the opposite. Christ was always kind, gentle, patient, long suffering, and charitable, even when He was tired. In the terrible twos I see Heavenly Father’s frustration with us when we fail to do what He has asked, commanded us to do NUMEROUS times. If only we were as obedient as we expect OUR children to be, how blessed we would be. I can see why (and I’m sure I only see a small portion at that) the plan of salvation revolves around families, and why families are so crucial in our development.
I can’t believe it’s been six weeks. The days, and nights, have all run together. There have a number of occasions that Joe and I commented on how much easier having two children was. And how did we ever think ONE was hard. Of course it was, but man, a little perspective and experience really does change your perceptions, expectations, and threshold for being tired. Going back to the six weeks marker, Julia is doing great. We had her weighed at one month, 8 pounds 1 ounce, so she’s gaining weight perfectly, 1 ounce a day. That has been a concern with each of the girls. Knowing that she’s doing well is a huge relief. She’s fussier when awake than I remember either Cassidy or Molly being. Julia wants to be held while awake, but she doesn’t really like it if you’re sitting while holding her. At night she often sleeps in the crook of my arm on the couch. There have been many a night when that was the only way that I could keep her asleep. I always said that I wouldn’t sleep with my infant but when it’s either that or not sleeping at all, I choose sleep. Same with a pacifier; Julia doesn’t really keep it in her mouth very well but sometimes it is the only thing I can do to pacify her.
One of my visiting teachers is a great photographer and she offered to do a mini photo session for Julia, of course I jumped at it. The pictures are AMAZING!!!!! Here are some of them. I can’t wait to frame some.

I am already worrying about equality between the girls and middle child syndrome. Cassidy had a little photo session when she was 2 weeks old. And her grandmother did an awesome painting of me holding her while she’s in her blessing dress. Julia had a photo shoot, her grandmother made her blessing dress, and I will get pictures of her in it. Then there is Molly, our dear Molly. True, I made her blessing dress but we never took any pictures of her wearing it. Nor did she have any type of photo shoot and I really didn’t take any photos that would come close to being that type. Will she be jealous?? Will she think that she was gyped?? I hope not. Molly definitely has the best birthing story of all the girls. But there again, she has the worst birthday, Christmas Eve. Poor girl.
Cassidy is in an attitude stage. She likes to forcibly tell us NO when she doesn’t want to do what we ask of her. At times it is hard not to laugh and other times it’s hard to keep my cool, especially when she’s being told to get off her sister and she responds with no.
Molly is such a pleasant child to be with, except when she’s screaming (which she does just to make noise with Cassidy). She is jabbering a lot more but still only says Ball, Dog, and Hi. She’s never tried to say mama or dada, oh well, one day. She is such a climber; my mother-in-law calls her the Terminator because she just goes through everything. And if she falls, she just gets up and continues. Today she went head first over the arm of our couch and as she stood up she laughed the most adorable laugh. So great. Because she doesn’t talk as she goes, sometimes she gets into things without your knowing she’s even there. She tests everything and remembers so much. Molly loves to be snuggled and always goes running to the back door when Joe comes home from work. She is a daddy’s girl, for sure.
Well I started this post over a week ago, and it’s finally getting on the blog, sorry.

Sunday Cassidy really busted out with attitude, during sacrament meeting no less. I had to keep a straight face and just look at her as she practically screamed at me to “let [her]do it, let [her] do it, just let [her] do!!” The it being take off Molly’s shoes. To the normal observer my girls ate pure sugar for breakfast, not that sugar makes you hyper, but you know. They were CRAZY, so with the screaming and not sitting even remotely quiet, I had to take them both out of the chapel and find a room with a speaker so I could listen to the talks as the girls and I sat where we were not disturbing everyone. It only took a couple of minutes of Cassidy sitting in her own chair and me trying, unsuccessfully, to hold Molly still. At one point I looked at the girls and thought that Cassidy is all girl, drama and babies, and Molly is all tom boy, hold the talking and pass the daredevil. So much fun but such an opportunity to learn to be patient and long suffering and kind and all those good qualities we want but loath to have to endure learning and acquiring. We were able to return and listen to the mission president give a powerful, ie loud, talk. Very good sacrament meeting. I really appreciated his wife’s talk on Peter in the New Testament. Oh how I NEED church on Sundays. What was Joe doing during this episode? looking so peaceful holding a sleeping Julia. Lucky him. Except he had to try to keep her asleep as I had to shuffle past with the girls, twice. Good job Joe. AND he got a sleeping Molly into her car asleep, out of her car seat asleep, and into her crib asleep. She then slept another 2 ½ hours. Good job JOE!!!!!!! Now if only I could do that.

First time on a slide and showing how it's really supposed to go down.

2011-03-30T10:31:00.001-07:00

Even if its only for one night

2011-03-26T06:35:00.000-07:00

So what happens when you put on Harry Potter and lie down on the couch with the baby tucked in one arm? Six plus hours STRAIGHT of sleep!!!! Amazing what a little sleep will do. Even if it is only for one night I will take it.

Side note, of course that would be the morning the other girls get up early.

our little comic relief

2011-03-23T23:22:00.001-07:00

I love our girls, they are hilarious. Molly and Cassidy are different but man, are they funny. The day after Julia came home I had to get all the girl clothing down from the garage, I had expected a boy and so got only boy clothes out. Well I got distracted while putting the dresses in the nursery closet. Cassidy must have come in after me and found two dresses sitting there begging to be put on. The next thing I see is Cassidy coming out of the nursery with a 3-6 month dress on. Of course it looked like a shirt and I couldn't button it but it fit her. Then out walks Molly, also with a 3-6 month dress on, also looking just like a shirt. Neither had pants on, just panties or a diaper and the baby dress. All I could do was laugh, too bad I didn't grab the camera. Of course it was Cassidy who got Molly undressed then dressed again. She is always trying to help get Molly naked.
We've had Julia sleeping in a pack'n'play in the family room since she came home. She no longer is there if the girls are up because we have a baby snatcher in the family. Little Cassidy just can't resist little Julia, no matter how often we tell her not to touch the baby ir to leave her blankets alone. The other day both Joe and I were home, the two older girls were up, and Julia was peacefully sleeping in the p&p. I was on the couch in the family room and must have fallen asleep, go figure. Well I woke up to see Cassidy walking out of the room carrying a doll dressed in pink, just like Julia. I jumped up, checked the p&p, saw that Julia was not in it and went running into the kitchen after Cassidy. Joe was in there but he was staring in unbelief at Cassidy carrying baby Julia like a doll. All I could think as I ran in there was "don't let go, don't drop her". Fortunately nothing happened but oh the idea of what could have been was enough to change the sleeping arrangement. I had no idea she'd be able to pick Julia up out of the p&p. Big sisters aren't they great?

what can you do?

2011-03-22T02:20:00.001-07:00

Its March 22, Julias due date. And what am I doing? I am hoping, with little reason to hope really, that she'll go back to sleep Before 5 am. You see, I have never seen a two week old who is so alert from 11 pm to 5 am. Its unreal. Its like clockwork to. She won't stay awake during the day, even when I try to feed her but she's all bright eyed from 11 to 5. The nut. The last two nights she would only go to sleep once I put her on the couch in my arm and fell asleep myself. To say the least I am dying of lack of sleep during the day. Tonight as soon as the girls were in bed, dinner done, and Julia was fed and down I went to bed. That was 7pm. I felt like an idiot. No time for Joe or me but I needed a little sleep before our nightly wake fest started. And "sleep when your baby sleeps" doesn't work so well with two other kids, each with a different nap schedule. Oh the sacrifices parents make.
You learn a lot about yourself when you are tired. Like just how selfish and impatient you really are, and how far you have to go to become Christlike. Its a good thing he was so good even when He was tired.

It's about time

2011-03-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

Two weeks already. Crazy. I guess I should post a little about the birth; I always love hearing the story.

I had been having painful Braxton hicks contractions for awhile and having had the 37 week appointment the Thursday before I knew that I wasn’t progressing in terms of labor so when I was having a lot of them on Saturday I just dismissed them as nothing. The contractions were only a 3 in pain terms, only lasted about 30 seconds, and were not very regular. So Saturday Joe and I got a lot of things done, we made and delivered chocolate chip cookies, we tried to visit his mom, we went for a long drive through the hills around town. By the time we got home it was time to make dinner for the girls, about 515pm. We made dinner, ate, showered, and got the girls ready for bed. At about 630pm Joe started keeping track of the spacing between my contractions. At about 7 he told me we were going to the hospital. I didn’t put up a fight; I really thought when the hospital sent us home for not being in labor would be a good enough told-you-so because “I was not in labor”. The hospital is only 2 miles away but Joe made the drive last longer because I wasn’t having any contractions right then. He made a deal with me; if I didn’t have any contractions by the time we got there we could turn around and go home. Yeah. Of course I didn’t have one until we were right in front of the hospital. So we went in and had to register in the ER and were taken up to the maternity ward where they proceeded to get everything set up and asked me a ton of questions before even checking me to see if I was in labor. The whole time I was thinking, why not check me first so you can just send me home. It was about 815 when the nurse finally checked me, 4 ½ cm and 60%. So I was wrong. The contractions were still not very strong; I know strong contractions thanks to Molly, and short. I turned down the early labor pain meds but soon things really started picking up and I was getting nervous that I wouldn’t be able to get the epidural in time because I could feel everything getting stronger. I had a lot of forms to sign and gladly signed for the epidural at 9. That’s when the contractions started going off the charts; literally, the peaks were off the fetal monitor graph paper. They checked me again, 6 cm, so they knew things were going to be quick. The anesthesiologist fortunately got in quickly and got the epidural in as quick as he could. I had to sit there through a few contractions, that was hard. They felt like my legs were being ripped from my hip joints. Once it was in, it took a few minutes to take effect and barely worked in time. This epidural was awesome, I could feel Julia moving down but it didn’t hurt. The nurse checked me again, 10 cm, woohoo. The bed was changed and the doctor came in. Not my doctor mind you, she hasn’t delivered any of my girls, but it was the doctor that delivered Cassidy, I really like that doctor. She said push, so I did, and in one push Julia’s head was out and then a pause to unwrap the cord from her neck, then one little push for her shoulders. That was a breeze. Because the epidural was placed so soon before the delivery, I didn’t need a catheter and the epidural was turned off soon, so the amount of drug taken was minimal. Both are key factors in recovery I have found. So Julia was born less then 4 hours from the time Joe started paying attention. I’m so glad I listened to him (well, humored him really) because had we taken any longer to get to the hospital I don’t think I would have had time to get the epidural. I could do it without if I HAD to but I don’t WANT to.
When she was first delivered Joe said it was a girl, I thought he was joking with me so I had to look for myself. He wasn’t kidding. The mental transition from ‘we’re having a boy” to “it’s a girl” was fortunately very quick. I was excited that there would be three little girls growing up together, and in high school together. She also had hair and was super cheesy. Julia had some trouble keeping her temperature up for the first 12 hours or so but otherwise she was/is perfect. So pretty, long fingers and toes, pretty color hair and blue eyes.
The stay at the hospital was a little boring because Joe was home with the other girls most of the time, of course. I did have some visitors which was so nice. We came home Monday and have been trying to adjust ever since. Julia is in the pack’n’play in the living room for the time being. The girls are back in their own rooms because Molly just wasn’t getting enough sleep being in the same room with Cassidy. When we move then they’ll have to share again and hopefully Molly will be able to get enough sleep then. But this works best for now. Too bad we made all the furniture changes and then didn’t really need them, oh well. I had to pack up all the boy stuff and go get all the girl clothes down, didn’t think I was going to need them anytime soon.
Julia sleeps great throughout the day and is starting to be awake a little more, usually at night though, Aghh. Oh well, that will change and it’ll be okay. The girls, well Cassidy loves her and always wants to hold her, Molly will notice her here and there but does her own thing most of the time. There aren’t a lot of jealousy issues, yet. I think the girls are lucky to have each other to make the transition easier.
Besides being sick, the recovery has been the best yet. Really the quickness of the delivery helped I think. Now that I am getting less sleep it is getting a little harder but at least I do not have to battle the physical recuperation as well.
Three little girls, how perfect is that??
Photos next time of the girls

everyone is sick

2011-03-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Yup we are all feeling sick today. Baby Julia has a slight stuffy nose and is being watched closely. The other two girls have runny noses and mom and dad have head congestion .
Dec was going to go to the store but it is raining hard outside at the moment. Day might be a day were we just hunker down and rest.

Pictures of Julia

2011-03-09T15:23:00.000-08:00

new baby girl arrived last night

2011-03-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

We are pleased to announce another baby girl decidedly wanted to join us in this world last night around ten o,clock
she weighed 6 lbs 15 ou and was around 19 in long. Both baby and mom are doing well. I think this one might be our fiery one because she came out screaming like none other. She also has more desire to feed.
Will post pictures soon

2011-03-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

we made it...

2011-03-01T22:37:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it's March! That was my goal, stay pregnant until March, now we can have the baby whenever. My doctor thinks it will be in the next week or so but we shall see. I never feel it is time till the morning I have the baby, maybe this time will be different. I have been trying to get ready as much as possible so that whenever happens the house is ready, with frozen meals in the freezer even. I moved Cassidy into Molly's room on Sunday. The first night was perfect, not a sound from either girl. Night two there was some talking but Molly seemed to fall asleep amidst Cassidy's soliloquy. Tonight was what I was dreading, two very tired girls that fought sleep for over an hour. I am sure we could have left them separated but it was going to happen eventually. Naps are still in their old rooms, that'll change, but for now...
Tonight I went out with some friends and we got pedicures, as a baby shower. It was great to have December time. Of course we talked a lot about our husbands and combined 15 kids but how can you not talk about your life? I had a good tome listening to these friends my age who have children much older than mine, I love getting a feel for the adventures and roller coasters ahead. I so enjoyed it. I haven't had a pedicure since my wedding.
We meet with a possible contractor for our addition this week, YEAH!! Let's get moving!!

2011-02-22T16:06:00.000-08:00

Amazing, just a week and a half ago we had a picnic at the park for my nephew’s birthday and it was gorgeous. This week there is snow on the hills surrounding our area. The weather sure has changed back to winter. Today was nice though; sixty-three degrees and sunny. My dad came over and we spent over an hour outside in the back yard playing. It felt so good to be out in the sunshine. The flowers are blooming everywhere, our daffodils are open and our freesias have buds which are close to opening. Didn’t someone tell them it’s only February 22? Oh well.

Four weeks to go till the baby comes, officially. Considering that Molly was so early, as long as we make it to March I’m happy. I’ve thought about this third addition a lot this last week. I don’t think I’m ready, or will be before he comes. (No, we don’t know if it’s a boy for sure, but yes, I think it is.) But it’s too late for a do over so I guess whether I feel ready or not is irrelevant. We’ve gotten to this point so quickly. In just over two and a half years we went from just Joe and me to Joe, myself, and three kids. I barely feel like I’ve been able to adjust to the two girls and soon there will be a new little one. I look at Molly and think “you are so little still, how is it possible that you won’t be the youngest in just a couple of weeks?” I know that we’ve made the right decisions to get to this point, I am just feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of it all. Unless a miracle happens in the next few weeks with potty training, we will have three in diapers, even if it’s only at night for Cassidy. Last night she did wake up and make noise in time for me to get her to the bathroom before she pooped, that’s a start, right?? Small blessings.

If you have any boy names that you like, make a comment with them. We find hearing other people’s ideas helps bring more names to the table and that really does help us. I guess you can mention girl names too, but I am 95% sure we don’t need to worry about those.

On Sunday, I took Molly with me to pick up Cassidy from nursery. We were in there a few minutes and Molly was having fun seeing all the other kids. There is one little boy, a brother of another little one in nursery, who is only a month older than Molly. Well Molly went up to him and gave him a big hug, completely out of the blue. It was really cute, especially because that is what Cassidy used to do a lot when she was just a little older than Molly is now. The little boy wasn’t too thrilled but he didn’t get upset, just wriggled to be freed. So adorable.

Loony bin????

2011-02-15T08:01:00.000-08:00

We are trying to still potty train miss Cassidy. We wish she would just catch on but is still having accidents and testing our resolve. This third baby is looking like it may be a little overwhelming and send us to the edge of checking into a loony bin.

Keep you all posted, only five weeks away.

Molly is trying to feed herself now...which is good and bad. Not sure if the mess that is made is worth it at this time. She is coordinated but at thirteen months she has limited dexterity. I am pleased she is trying nonetheless.

No great updates, just progress in all areas.

2011-02-14T15:52:00.000-08:00

First of all, Happy Valentine’s Day!! Can you believe February is half over already??
Cassidy is getting better at not saying “no” all the time. She does have her own opinions on just about everything but she can be persuaded to go along with us if we really want to change her mind. She’ll be 2 ½ this week, amazing. I have to remind myself that often when she acts her age. Her verbal skills make me think she’s older. What a delight she is. She loves to try and get Molly to talk; she’ll say “say mama” “say dada” to Molly a lot. Cassidy is right now singing in her crib. We put her down for her nap almost 30 minutes ago but she’s still going strong. We don’t always recognize what she’s saying, but sometimes it’s really obvious, like when she sings “happy birthday”. Potty training is going okay. After talking to our local potty training expert, I think we missed our “magic window of opportunity” with Cassidy. Oh well. It will happen eventually, Joe and I just need patience with her and the mess that naturally comes with potty training. Cassidy loves nursery and talks about it all week. We’ve really enjoyed this last week, the weather has been so nice and we’ve been able to go out and play a lot.
Molly is getting bigger and much more mobile. She’s really interested in getting down and exploring everywhere. That is great, except during church when it can be quite a challenge to get her to sit through a class. Oh well, she’s such a dear that there is always someone offering to walk with her. I’ve heard that our girls have a great reputation at church, that anyone should jump at the opportunity to babysit them. It’s such a relief to know that people are willing to help, especially with the new baby coming soon. We’ve learn a valuable lesson already with Molly, that is not to compare your kids, even as young as Molly and Cassidy they are different. Whereas Cassidy talked early and developed a HUGE vocabulary early, she walked on the later side; and Molly is the opposite, early walker and talking later. She says “ball” and that’s all. She doesn’t appear to have any interest in talking. She won’t mimmick any sound except growling, which is really cute. She just looks at you and then is off and running. It’s quite clear she hears perfectly well and she will follow directions as well as a 13 month old will, she just isn’t into talking.
The next challenge I am dreading is putting those two in the same room to sleep. Joe and I both are of the mind that sharing a room is good for kids and so even though it needs to happen eventually but I am not sure I’m ready to do it. When we move out during construction I am pretty sure we’ll be in a two room townhouse or apartment and so it will be necessary for them to sleep in the same room then. They sleep so well in their own rooms that I hate to disrupt that. If anyone has experience with this please share with me your thoughts.
Joe is doing well, though he seems to be getting all the colds that are going around. He’s trying to get over something right now. He was able to get a few days of snow boarding in this winter which he enjoyed. Work is going well. He just got a new phone, a smart phone so he’s enjoying leaning all its capabilities.
The house project is going well. Our plans are just being checked over by the city and then we can pull permits. We should be starting construction in April or May, just depends on the weather and the contractor. I am so excited.
Lastly, I am doing pretty well. My body is tired and I am ready to not be pregnant anymore. Only a few weeks to go before chaos starts but that’s okay; it’s always hardest before it gets easier. This baby is quite active which is fun. Sometimes I get really painful cramps that feel like a runner’s side cramp, when those happen I think “thank goodness for epidurals”. Sometimes I think, oh I could do this without one again, then the cramps start and I think, “thank goodness I don’t have to”. But as with everything, this too shall pass, YEAH!!!

Oh yeah, and thank you whoever it was. We appreciate your generousity. We will be doing a better job of updating our blog, on a weekly basis, at least.

New Year - New Challenges

2011-02-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

- potty training
- learning to hear "NO" to everything
- Getting ready for the next BABY

December is only a half-dozen weeks away from being a mommy x3

Our house is in the crosshairs of demo and remodeling

The 19th already??

2010-12-19T23:19:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's been three months, sorry. A lot is going on and without Internet at home, it's been nigh to impossible to update the blog. I'm lucky if I can check my email every other week, I really have had to make a HUGE effort to get my online banking stuff done. I wish that there was an Internet plan that would allow for a weekly or daily connection allotment and that's all you'd pay for. Maybe 3 hours a week or 30 minutes a day. That would be IDEAL!! Then I could stay on top of a few things and still get to know what is happening out in the world. Sometimes I feel so isolated but that isn't a biggie.
Can you believe in five days Christmas will be here? Nor can I. Friday is Molly's first birthday. Crazy. Right now I am up in the mountains, snowed in, and remembering what it was like to think that I was going to deliver at my in-laws' cabin Christmas Eve with no one but some clueless, scared firefighters. Oh how I am grateful for competent doctors and nurses who know what's going on and how to make it not hurt so much. Back to Molly. She's walking now. She'll take about 10 steps max on her own and will go from thing to thing quite easily. She usually keeps her arms above her head or out in front of her a la Frankenstein. She is so cute. She is so patient with Cassidy who would love her to death if we didn't referee. Cassidy loves to try and pick her up, often by wrapping her arms around Molly's neck and pulling up. I've gotta keep an eye on those two when playing together. They love each other though. It is so obvious and so wonderful. They both become so excited when they wake up in the morning and see the other for the first time. Cassidy asks to go see Molly constantly while Molly is napping. What a joy for me. It makes all the difficulties of having them so close in age seem worth it. I'll post a video when I can get online with a better connection.
Cassidy is such a dear, she loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone. She has a crush, a 28 month old toddler crush, on the 9-year-old son of our friends here at the cabin with us. It is so funny. She always asks where he is and wants to see him and she'll follow him around endlessly. He is pretty good about it. When she sees him she'll say "go get Jaxon?" but then she gets to shy to go up to him. So adorable. She is picking up all our tendencies. I have to tell her to stay where she is sometimes when I need to go get something, and today she told me to stay where I was while she went to get something. It was hilarious, she was so serious, just like I have to be with her. It is amazing to watch them develop and learn and become little people with capabilities and opinions and everything.
Joe and I are nearing, we hope, the end of the review process to have our addition design approved by the city. We submitted our plans in November and have gone through one review and now are trying to obtain a variance for an issue that wasn't even noticed by the city planning department right away. There is a public hearing tomorrow at 11:30 about the variance but seeing as we are snowed in in the Sierras, we won't be able to make it. We are crossing our fingers that we aren't needed for anything and that we will be granted the variance. It looks good but we won't know until tomorrow, at least. If that goes through than we will be eligible to start the permit process in January!!!!!!!! We won't begin construction until the rains stop in the spring but at least we will be okayed by the city to go ahead. A HUGE step.
I turned 30 this last week. Not such a big deal. I guess now that I'm 30 I don't have to feel too young to be going gray. I hate the gray hair but I like my hair color and so I don't want to dye it. Maybe if enough women owned their grays then society wouldn't care so much about them. Go gray-hair-owner-uppers!!!! Having two kids and a third on the way sounds age appropriate. Gong through MAJOR home renovation sounds like something a 30 year old would do.
Can I mention how weird it still is to me to feel a baby move inside my belly?? I've done this three times now and the whole conception and development and birthing thing is just weird. Really, there is a living thing inside me? Kicking me and squirming and sucking the energy and nutrients from me? It's like a parasite. It's a parasite for 9 months and then a leach for however long you nurse. You love them but sometimes it just seems odd. Three more months, maybe. The doc thinks less. I don't know if I'll be able to make it that long. The third one is a lot more uncomfortable than the first or second and the second got pretty painful there towards the end. What a blessing though to be able to be pregnant and for the pregnancies to be as tame as they are. I know that I am lucky.
Funny story to close. Last week I went to In-n-out at about 11 pm, don't ask. There are two windows, the first had a sign in it, Foward to next window, or something like that. I looked at it and thought, huhhh, aren't there TWO r's in forward?? I didn't say anything, but I wondered and still do wonder how many people see that and think, couldn't they afford to spell check??

Fun times

2010-09-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I couldn't quite make the one-post-a-month goal, and it's only been a month and a half. Oh well. Life is more important. So this will be quick with lots of little snippits of news.

1. We are expecting Baby Lotz #3 in March!! Joe announced it in church last week so I guess I can post it now. This is the hardest pregnancy so far. Lots of nausea. Extremely tired much of the day. But we are excited. Maybe a boy? Another little girl? We'll just make sure to stay in town after 36 weeks.
2. Cassidy is 2 now. Crazy. Such a sweet heart. Love her to pieces.
3. Molly is mobile. She's fully crawling and loves her freedom. She has two teeth and LOVES big people food. What a doll. Her little voice is so precious.
4. We are actively working with our architect towards the plans for the second floor. Crazy to think that we'll have a new baby in March and then start the second floor soon thereafter.
5. Joe is a champion fisherman. He went night fishing with some buddies last week and caught a 8 pound bass!!!!!! The fish was huge, well is huge, it's still swimming around Berryessa. Catch and release.

6. We are almost caught up with our family history temple work. Since last August we've completed work for around 100 family members. So excited to get the work done.
Anything else important? Pictures. Hummm... maybe next time.
6.

Going wireless

2010-07-22T12:46:00.001-07:00

We are officially going wireless. And going back to the stoneage, BI, before internet. We are getting rid of internet service today (if I can make it to the service center with the girls that is, or it may be tomorrow). I am THRILLED!! I have really enjoyed having the world (wide web) at my fingers these last 6 months but it really is a web and you can get stuck in it. So it is going away. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! One less useless thing to clear out of the house. I already made my bucket list yesterday, well started to anyhow, of all the things I'd like to get done by the end of the year. I am so excited because I KNOW I have time to actually get it all done, and loads more, now that I am extricating myself from this web of mostly useless, temporal fluff.
I will have access to the web at my in-laws' and father's house so you can expect at least one post a month, with pictures.

Photo Inequality

2010-07-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

The other day I was going through the photos on my computer, trying to pick out images to print for the girls' scrapbooks. You know what I noticed? I take comparatively few photos of my Molly. Poor little one had so few photos. She is so wonderful, so mellow, so sweet, so content, so everything you'd want in a baby and I have barely captured it on 'film' for her to see when she gets older and to reminder me when she gets older. I have to be so much better about catching her in moments of pure joy. She brings us so much joy. Everyone comments on her disposition, how wonderful she is. What a blessing to have her in our family. Here are some cute pictures of Molly.

Sunday we had our friends over for dinner one last time before they move closer to family. We are going to miss them so much. We were so excited when they moved into our ward late last year. Diana and Ryan are our Settlers buddies. Ella is Cassidy's best friend. The two of them are so cute together. We are going to miss them but wish them well in Utah. We are going to miss seeing the new babies. Here's a few pics of the girls.

Craziness. We all know that siblings are different but sometimes it still catches you off guard when it manifests itself in little ones. Cassidy didn't crawl until almost a year old, but Molly looks like she'll be off and crawling any day now. Here's a video from the first day she got on her knees, June 29, and from last week, July 6th.

Boy crazy at 21 (months that is)

2010-06-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

We've already entered the boy crazy age and Cassidy is not even 22 months old yet. First it was Mitchell, an older boy from church, nursery to be exact. Out of the blue she started saying his name during the day. Next she'd find the picture of us with another family on vacation and say the son's name over and over, Jaxson, Jaxson, Jaxson. Now she carries the picture around like a teenage girl with a crush. It's really cute. We see Jaxson's family about every other month and have gone on vacation a few times with them. He's really nice to Cassidy, but at 8 years old, I don't think it'll work out.
Cassidy is so fun. Today I was putting Molly down to sleep and Cassidy just couldn't resist coming in and jumping on the bed Molly and I were sitting on. Then she wanted to play with Molly's shoes. But my favorite was when it was her to turn to be put down for a nap she responded to my "I love you" with her typical "love you, too" and then threw in the "momma" for bonus points. I could only smile "I love you, too, Momma." How great is that. That reminds me of last night when the missionaries came over for dinner. On the other side of our dining room wall is Cassidy's crib so we can really hear her well. Well last night she wasn't asleep by the time we sat down for dinner so all through dinner we heard her trying to talk to us, saying "hi momma," and all kinds of other cute stuff. We did have to move her crib away form the wall because she was enjoying kicking and slapping the wall too much. There she is right now saying "hi momma" at the top of her lungs and jumping up and down. So cute. We consider the first 30 minutes after we put her down to be her own wind down time and know that she won't fall asleep for awhile, but that is okay with us. Now she's saying "Molly" and "Cassie" (her name for herself). How I love that little imp.
Molly is almost 6 months, crazy. She's a roller and usually ends up rolling onto her tummy from her back. So different from Cassidy. She is SOOOO happy. I started solids with her and she does well with them. The only problem, it's made her stinky poo even stinkier!! Oh well. Maybe that will keep the boys away. :)
We have our garden in, FINALLY. The tomato plants are doing well, all 30+ of them. My mom would laugh so hard if she saw me with tomato plants in the ground. I HATE fresh tomatoes, they are not good. But we make so much tomato sauce that it makes sense to grow a ton. The pumpkins are doing really well, the watermelon, zucchini, and butternut squash are content. I hope our peppers start picking it up. Pictures to come.
We are making progress with the second story addition. We downloaded AutoCAD and are working on the drawings to submit to the city. We spent 1.5 hours at the city planning office 2 Fridays ago getting the information on the steps that we need to take to make this a reality. I can't wait!!! So exciting. More space!!!!!!

Our girls

2010-05-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here are the cutest videos ever. And no Cassidy did not body slam Molly.

So quick and easy, kind of

2010-05-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

Can I say how much I like Craigslist? Another sale. I have had a pair of JumpSoles since I was a senior in high school. They have just sat in the garage collecting dust. So I craigslisted them. They were put in a box and flown to Texas where a gentleman is hoping to get much use of them. Thanks PayPal and thanks Craigslist for the extra money in my pocket and for the extra room in the garage (and in my closet because that's where the box was hanging out that I used to mail them). I LOVE getting rid of stuff, especially when other people get to enjoy it.

The fence is done. Well almost. I have to cut one picket shorter to accommodate the cement at the base of the post. It is AWESOME!! Joe even likes it. The pictures are in the slide show to the right, or will be when I get them uploaded. I even started planting herbs and peppers now that little miss Cassidy is no longer able to go back there, without us anyway. It feels great to get moving on the garden. With the weather in the low 70s this week, it'll be perfect for getting the rest of the tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, butternut squash, pumpkins, watermelons, and whatever else there is, planted. Yeah!!!

Chubs

2010-04-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

Recently Joe (and I, I must admit) have started calling Molly chubs. Yesterday she had her four month appointment and we were justified in the new nickname. She has caught up, and even surpassed, Cassidy's four month stats, despite having started out 1.5 inches shorter and 1.25 pounds lighter!!! Crazy. She now weighs 13 pounds 6.5 ounces (Cas was only 13 lb 5 oz), is 24.5 long (same as Cas) and her head is 15.75 in (same as Cas). I do realize that those she is still relatively a lightweight but I feel proud to know that we've gained almost four pounds since her two month appointment. My visiting teaching companion, our teachee, and I joke about how my companion produces cream while my teachee and I produce skim milk. So the big weight gain really boosts my confidence in my ability to produce enough.
Us girls are sick, yet again. I feel so bad for Cassidy because she is also cutting two molars on top of the illness. And poor Molly sounds so hoarse and stuffy and so pitiful when she cries. It breaks my heart. Cassidy keeps waking up partially and crying out. Next time she does wake up fully a little Tylenol should help.
I wanted the fence up by tomorrow but I don't think that will happen. Tomorrow I'll get the stringers and pickets painted and hopefully attached. Maybe it'll be up tomorrow, but if not than by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. I can't wait to get the plants in the ground.We did get a lot of weeds pulled today so that was good. With the next 10 days looking gorgeous in terms of weather I can't wait to see what gets accomplished.

Fun stuff

2010-04-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is Molly on April 19th. Isn't she getting so big? She is really starting to stand well and likes to sit up on our laps. So cute.

This is Cassidy and her friend Ella (Cassidy calls her "A-ya", so funny) from April 12. Cassidy started bouncing then Ella started bouncing. Don't you love the roll off the step? Cassidy asked for Ella for the next 3 days. It was really cute.

So Joe and I are moving ahead with some projects at home. The first is a little picket fence in our back yard to keep the kiddies out of the garden area. So far we've sunk the posts and primed the pickets. We are waiting on the lumber to dry enough to cut and make the stringers to which we will attach the pickets. I'd love to get that project done before we plant our "garden". All our plants are sitting on our patio table and are waiting to get in the ground. Hopefully it'll all be done by May 1st. That is my goal. What day is May 1st? Well, by the end of next week, whatever the date my be.
The BIG project we have just decided to undertake is... add a second story to our house. Crazy, we've talked about it now and then ever since we got married. Well, with the economy down and just two kids at home we thought the time is right. So first we have to design what we want and then get a structural engineer to tell us what we need to do to the house and foundation to be able to add the second story. That and all the needed structural reinforcing (as well as the guest bath remodel) will be this year's project. That and getting all the permits and the city stuff done. Next spring and summer we will rip off the roof over the area where the second floor will be and then add the floor joists, do the framing, drywall, yadda yadda yadda. I'm already picking paint colors and fixtures for the bathroom. In total I think we are going to try to add about 800 square feet, it'll be 3 large bedrooms, a large closet for storage (our house has almost NO storage), a bathroom and the stair case obviously.
I know it will be nuts and crazy but I am SOOOO excited at the prospect of more room. We have the smallest house model in our subdivision but we will probably end up having the largest family (cross our fingers) so obviously we need more room.
So I am going to post a slide show of the progress of all our house projects. There may be long stretches without updates but bear with us. Hopefully by next summer the picture of our house from the front will look much different.

Happy Birthday!!!

2010-04-08T15:39:00.001-07:00

So today is Joe's 33rd birthday. He can't believe it. It's a repeat of Easter unfortunately, the kids are still sick, again, and so we are celebrating at home and will celebrate with Grandma and Grandpa next week, when everyone, including Grandma is healthy. Opps there's Miss Cassidy waking from her nap.
Love you Joe.

It's been too long

2010-04-01T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today ended up going very different from what I thought this morning. Last night was rough. Cassidy woke up crying around 11p, Molly was hungry about 12a, again at 4a, then she woke up (if she ever fell asleep) around 430a needing to be reswaddled and rocked back to sleep. Cassidy talked on and off from about 5a on. Joe got up with her and then he left about 6a to go skiing with his dad. Cassidy came to bed with me, that lasted till 615a when Molly wanted to get up too. After a night like that, all I wanted to do was go back to bed, but that didn't happen. Fortunately Molly went back to sleep about 7a. She woke up around 830a and I decided to give her a bath. While I was bathing her I remembered that some old friends played volleyball at a local chapel from 9-11a. Oh that sounded like fun, so I got the girls dressed, changed into work out clothes and hit the road.
I don't remember the last time I played volleyball, really played, with people who know how to play. I'm sure it was before Joe and I got married. I think it'd been even a few years before that that I had done drills. Well that's what we did today. Drills. It was so FUN!!!!!!!!!!!! I had a blast. I already feel it in my legs. Isn't it great??? The girls were able to come because there is a babysitter who only charges $2!! What a deal. There were about 8 kids there. Cassidy wasn't too thrilled but it was good for me to find out that she needs to be around kids without me more. Molly was a doll, after I feed her.
I had so much fun. It is so good to get out and do something that is so me for a change, something that was me longer than I've been a mom or a wife. Something that I enjoy but don't get a chance to do very often at all. We will be going back, hopefully weekly.

Bad Mommy

2010-03-16T21:54:00.000-07:00

After Cassidy was I always had the camera out. We have TONS of pictures of her doing nothing. It's crazy really. With Molly there is usually so much going on that I don't get the camera nearly as much as I did with Cassidy, or nearly as much as I should. A couple of weeks ago Joe's Aunt was in town and she had her camera out, thank goodness, and she got some really cool shots of Molly and me. The whole time Molly was so alert and aware of the camera, just like Cassidy was.

Don't forget about Cassidy, check out the wild hair and blue eyes.

We did it!!

2010-03-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

It's official, I am a mini van mama. But a cool mini van mama. We ended up going with the 2010 Honda Odyssey LX, in Dark Cherry Pearl. It's so awesome!! I love it. I love the way it drives. I love all the storage, and there is a lot of storage. I love how easy the back row of seats fold down and then how easy it is to get them up. I love that the side windows roll down, I didn't even know about that feature till after we bought the van. I love that the front center console folds down, out of the way. I love how easy it is to get the kids in and out of the car, no more having to bend over. I LOVE the color. I guess you could say I LOVE this car!!!! I just don't like losing the great gas mileage of my civic. Oh well. It's a good trade off. Even the double stroller fits easily in back. And Molly seems to love it, every time we've driven in it she's fallen asleep, even the short mile and a half trip home from the in laws. She never did that in the civic. I highly recommend the Odyssey to everyone.

All this craziness

2010-03-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

Joe and I have discussed for as long as I can remember the fact that we want a big family. That ultimately means room enough for all of them. We know that one day we'll most likely add a second story to our home. And a minivan. That would be necessary with the coming of a third child. Even though that is at least a year and a half away, Joe was ready for one sooner as opposed to later. Safety reasons he cited. So in the last month or two of thinking about it I have actually become really excited about the idea of the minivan. I have done countless comparisons and have narrowed it done to two, most likely. The only thing I hadn't done was get my car posted for sale. After Joe asked me again what I had done to sell it, nothing, I got ambitious last night and posted it on two sites as well as craigslist.
So I opened my email this morning and WHOOSH... interest galore. I guess the price was right. So after lots of emails I had set up some viewings. My Wednesday afternoon guy called me up this afternoon and asked if he could come today. They arrived at 7 pm and after I run down on the defects, a peak under the bonnet, and a test drive we shook hands, took a picture, signed a few papers, and handed over the keys. Don't forget about counting the money. And there it went, down the driveway and to a new home. I am now carless.
Joe was in shock. I did it. Almost all by myself. Now we have to buy something. No dragging our feet. Crazy how quickly it all happened.

Honda Odyssey or Kia Sedona? They have the best safety ratings. What do you think? Oh yeah... it will be RED!!!!

Some cuteness

2010-03-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

It's Lotz

2010-02-22T21:26:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, a reporter from the town where Molly was born called us and asked if she could write an article about the whole incident. We said yes. Today Joe came home with a copy of the article. It was interesting that she got some facts wrong in the article that she had correct when she was talking to me, but oh well, close enough I guess. She even got the name wrong. Here is a link if you are interested in reading it. I do think my post is much better though.
I remember hearing about the other girl as the staff prepared for her arrival. From what I remember overhearing while she was there, I am surprised that the hospital that she was transferred to released her, she seemed far enough along to be admitted. I could overhear the whole thing because we were in the same emergency room, only separated by about 4 feet and a cloth curtain. I told you it was a small hospital. There I was trying to finish up with the placenta and getting all ready to go by chopper to Reno and she was laying there listening in on me. Oh well.
We sure gave the staff a Christmas to remember.

Prayers for the broken hearted

2010-02-18T02:11:00.000-08:00

For those that knew Julie and the Domm family, they could use your prayers right now. Annette passed away last night from cancer. I've been told the funeral will be early next week in San Leandro. Let me know if you'd like more info.

Sleeping, or lack thereof

2010-02-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

I remember the first night Molly was born. I thought, as I tried to soothe her to sleep, why did we do this again? Not because I regretted having another child because my nights of sleeping all the way through were over for many moons. Cassidy is so easy at nap and night time. Bottle (if she wants it), brush teeth, change diaper/clothes, prayer, songs, and crib. We don't see her again till it's time to get up. And she's usually down around 6-6:30 pm till 6:30-7 am. She may wake during the night but she goes right back to sleep.
But this little Molly... I was telling her tonight not to fight sleep so hard and she smiled and cooed a mocking coo. Really I'm not making it up. I laughed at her. But that's how it is. She gets so tired but has the hardest time falling and staying asleep. Like right now, we've been trying to get her to sleep for almost 4 hours now. Every time I think she's out, she wakes up. And cries, and screams, and cries, and screams so more. Once I get her down it's just a matter of time till she's up for her 3 1/2 hours wakeful marathon. It usually occurs around 2 am. I must average 4-6 hours of sleep, broken into 3 parts. Days like today are rough.
Pacifier works till she drops it. Nursing works till I take her off and she realizes she's no longer sucking. Rocking, nope. Swing, nope. Crying, nope. Luck, that must be it.
Any suggestions?

A little update

2010-01-27T20:54:00.001-08:00

Where did January go? I know I didn't sleep through it. Anyway. Just a quick update.
Molly had, has, her first cold. A lovely runny/stuffy nose courtesy of Cassidy. She's doing well though. Thank heavens for the bulb syringe. She is up to 7 pounds, or was as of last Thursday. We were worried about her weight gain because it took 3 weeks to get back up to birth weight. I shouldn't still be worried, but I'm a mom.
Cassidy is loving having a little live doll that she can grab and love. She no longer cries when Molly does and seems to ignore it. She is talking up a storm and is the cutest thing EVER. So funny and full of life.
I scheduled Molly's 2 month and Cassidy's 18 month appointments today, they get to go in at the same time. Thanks Dr. W. One trip instead of two, but two kids getting shots instead of one, no fun. Lots of treats for Cassidy that day. Lots of Mommy for Molly that day.
Joe has had to help out a couple of nights this week with Molly. I don't know how single parents do it. When I get to that breaking point I can ask him to help and thankfully he is there to help.
I got out of the house today. With the break in the rain, which has been torrential at times, we escaped and visited some school friends. The hills are bright green. My spirits were definitely lifted, until I had to come home. Tomorrow we get to go visiting teaching twice and then visit my dad and sister. YEAH!!! Love the rain, and love the sunny days in the midst of the rainy days.

A Christmas Eve to remember

2010-01-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

I'll try to keep this short. When Joe tells the whole story it takes 90 minutes...

So Joe and I decided to spend the Christmas week up at the cabin. At my OB apt Monday (before Christmas) the doctor said the baby was low but I hadn't started dilating. When I asked about setting up a date for an induction she said we'd wait till the 38 week apt (Jan 4). That meant that it must be ok to go away for a week. So we leave that same day and Joe's parents come up Tuesday. Thursday morning (Christmas Eve) I wake up at 4 am with contractions, just like what happened with Cassidy. They were super irregular and short all morning, some 30 minutes apart, some 15, and usually only lasting 30 seconds. My doctor's guidelines for going to the hospital are contractions 5 minutes apart, lasting 1 minute each, going on for an hour. Well that didn't ever happen, they stayed no closer than 10 minutes apart until about 2:15 pm when I got 4 or 5 about a minute apart. At that point we knew we should call the hospital and let them know we were coming. While Joe was warming up the car (it was 20 degrees outside) I got a contraction so bad I couldn't stand up and I knew I'd never make it to the hospital 12 miles away sitting in a car so I thought an ambulance might be more comfortable. So my father in law called the fire and ambulance. At this point I started feeling like the baby wasn't going to wait to get to the hospital and it took all I had not to scream through the subsequent contractions.
After about 15 minutes the fire department finally arrived and the chaos broke out. They had no clue it seemed. Fortunately, a female volunteer fire fighter had seen the ambulance en route and decided to follow. Though she had never delivered or helped deliver a baby, at least she had had 3 of her own and knew what to expect. She became my impromptu breathing coach/angel. (Side note- in all the chaos the fire department left an oxygen canister at the cabin, in front of the fireplace) After what seemed like another 20 minutes of confusion for them and excruciating pain for me it was decided that the baby wasn't quite making her entrance and there would be time to get me to the hospital. Let me tell you how not excited I was by the prospect of delivering my baby with a bunch of men who had no idea what they were doing and somewhere other than an equipped hospital. Once they got me on the gurney and somehow safely down the icy front steps (one of the scariest parts of the whole ordeal) I was loaded in the ambulance and we were off to the hospital, Jennifer my coach was in back with me and Joe was up front. The whole 20-25 minutes it took to get to the hospital I kept asking for something for the pain, and they wouldn't give me anything. I really thought my pelvis was going to explode but I couldn't make any audible noise because when I did I would end up pushing and I was not allowed to push. Even so, my body was pushing and at the end of each contraction I really could feel the baby descend and was well aware when the amniotic sac started coming out. Gross huh? Yeah. My water broke a couple of minutes before we got to the hospital.
The whole ride over I had worked so hard to keep the baby in and once we got to the hospital I couldn't wait to get it out. All I wanted to do was push, I knew it would get the pain over. Hallelujah when the doctor finally gave the ok to push. I think it was only one push and out she came. There was a slight pause between the head coming out and the body following but that was nothing compared to the contractions and the burning that lead up to that moment. We had been at the hospital less than 15 minutes at that point.
The hospital was not like the ones we are all used to, it is more an urgent care with an on call physician and a couple of nurses and one emergency room. They only deliver one or two babies a year there and so when they were unsure of possible complications or whatever need may arise they called in the LifeVac from Reno just in case. So they were there too. And we almost needed to use them. In fact I was strapped down on their gurney and had the whole plan laid out about me going by helicopter and Joe and Molly going by ambulance to Reno because there is a much bigger hospital that could handle the complication I had of not delivering the placenta quickly enough. When I finally did, just a couple minutes before we were to fly out it had been over 3 hours from the time I delivered Molly. At that point the risks to me get real high. Thankfully I finally did deliver it and we were taken to a much closer hospital (only 40 miles away) where we stayed for the next two days.
In the end everything was fine, our little girl was born perfect and everything turned out ok with me. I think this recovery has gone a little easier but the not sleeping much at night has been a lot harder to deal with because I have Cassidy to look after during the day. She has been so good with Molly. She loves to come up to her, pat her somewhat gently, and say 'baby'.
Molly was 6 pounds 8 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long and 22 days early. She has super long fingers and toes and has skinny skinny legs and no butt. It's really cute. She has what I call old man hair, hair on the sides but not on top. She is such a doll. Molly will sleep all day long but when she is awake she is so alert and just stares at you with dark blue eyes. I don't have my camera with me so pictures will have to wait.
With the way she came into the world, she won't ever have to worry about her birthday meshing into Christmas. Those are two very distinct days in our lives.

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

2009-12-27T17:35:00.000-08:00

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.

Where does the time go?

2009-12-05T09:29:00.000-08:00

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.

Getting use out of wedding gifts

2009-10-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

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.

Surprise!!

2009-09-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

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.

Super great August

2009-08-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

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.

Yeah!!!!!

2009-07-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

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!!

Fun days... usually

2009-06-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

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...

Busy time

2009-05-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

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.

To the East and Back

2009-05-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

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 ....

Prayers for the broken hearted

2009-04-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

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.

For all you Californians

2009-04-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

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.

Yes, we're still alive

2009-04-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

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.

Pay raise

2009-03-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

Congress got a pay raise. Did you?

The glorious sun

2009-03-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

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.

Cute story

2009-03-02T13:55:00.000-08:00

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.

What a (little) champ

2009-02-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

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.

Tag, you're it.

2009-02-13T21:37:00.001-08:00

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).

New blog

2009-02-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

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.

Beware of the exersaucer

2009-02-02T16:51:00.001-08:00

*****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.

Teeth

2009-01-28T00:09:00.000-08:00

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.

Our Weekend in the SNOW

2009-01-27T08:28:00.000-08:00

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?

there are no accidents

2009-01-22T11:51:00.000-08:00

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. :)

humm

2009-01-20T10:11:00.000-08:00

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.

FOOD!!!!

2009-01-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

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!

Crazy

2009-01-09T21:25:00.000-08:00

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.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful for people who put videos like this in their posts because it means I get to watch and them share them as well. I hope you enjoy this video. I love this song and the portrayals of the life of Christ. You might recognize many of the paintings and scenes from LDS artists and videos.

The Spirit of Christ(mas) is so strong when watching. I hope that each of you can feel it and know that the Love of God is real and is there for each of us. I know that He cares and loves me and you. I am so thankful for that knowledge, even when I am slow to acknowledge it. Joe, Cassidy, and I wish each of you the most wonderful of Christmas wishes. Good will towards all men and Peace on Earth is our prayer.

Almost Over

2008-12-17T21:45:00.000-08:00

TLC's What Not To Wear was keeping her entertained and gave her someone with whom to talk. Check out her tongue in the beginning, hilarious!

The alligator

2008-12-17T21:33:00.000-08:00

Cassidy, the alligator hunter

Videos

2008-12-17T21:22:00.000-08:00

I think it's time for VIDEOS!!!! woohoo!! Cassidy has been a lot of fun lately. She's really found her voice as you'll see and hear. That has been a kick. She can get loud and now her cries seem more like demands than ever. Also she's rolled over from her stomach to her back. I think it was more of gravity getting her but oh well. And she's pretty close, I think, to rolling from her back to her stomach. She just needs to get the leg over a little more. Joe bought me a frog, stuffed of course, for my birthday. Of course it's the perfect size and friend for Cassidy, she likes to talk to it. She's also, what Joe calls, more interactive. She'll giggle and sqeal and smile in response to others. It's great.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2008-12-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

Cassidy was introduced to Christmas trees yesterday. "The parents", that is Joe's parents, brought us a tree down from the mountains the day before Thanksgiving, but it stayed outside till Monday night. Yesterday we put lights on it and glass icicles and a few of our nicer ornaments. We also went through our collection and whittled it down to the ones we actually like. It looks great!! I took a few pictures of my dad holding Cassidy as Joe put on the lights, her first Christmas!!!
Where did the year go? I can't believe it's almost over. Just a few weeks to go. For the last few mornings, the fog has been so thick that you can barely see a few blocks away, a Bay Area version of a white Christmas. It's been so thick that the ground looks like it rained during the night. It's pretty, but also pretty cold, 41 degrees. Yuck. I don't really like the cold.
Joe got sick this weekend. Not fun. He's stayed home since Sunday but it isn't getting ant better. Half of me wants to run with the baby and stay somewhere else so she doesn't get sick... She had been coughing just a bit last week but seems to be over that. I don't know if there is anything harder to have to watch than a sick infant. So pray that Joe gets better and baby doesn't get sick.

3 months

2008-11-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? Three months already? We LOVE our little Cassidy. She celebrated last night by displaying her not oft seen explosive spewing technique, all over Dad, the couch, and the carpet. (thank goodness for The Little Green Machine. Got kids? Got carpet or furniture? Get it!) She looked so sad afterward and cuddled with me for about 90 minutes. I loved the cuddle time but felt so bad for her.

A whole bunch of nothing

2008-11-15T21:10:00.001-08:00

I thought it would be fun to post a little video of Cassidy doing tummy time. She really doesn't like it and has stopped trying to push up or even hold her head up. She just lies there and cries till she falls asleep. It is an easy way to put her down for a nap though. :) The video doesn't show her crying, I thought that wouldn't be enjoyable, but it shows her newest discovery, her hands.
I thought I would post a little about what I've been up to in the past little while. In December I graduated from San Jose State with a BS in Kinesiology (the study of human movement) and a concentration in Athletic Training. I know that there is a lot of confusion and questions about what athletic training is so let me explain a little. If you've ever watched a sporting event when someone got injured, the person or people who ran out to check on the athlete is/are athletic trainers. We work with active populations, most often athletes, in the prevention, recognition, treatment, and rehabilitation of injuries. We are considered allied health professionals and can actually bill health insurance companies, in some states, for our services. To become an athletic trainer one most graduate from a BOC accredited college program then pass a national certification exam. While in the AT education program one must accumulate a certain number of internship hours. At SJSU the requirement was a minimum of 200 hours per semesters, that was 200 hours outside of the classroom. After certification we must acquire 75 continuing education credits every three years to maintain our certification.
In talking to others, athletic training is often confused with personal training. Those professionals work with individuals to design and/or implement exercise programs, often at gyms and health clubs. To my knowledge, some companies require their personal trainers to obtain CSCS certification, some do not. The CSCS certification test can be taken by anyone 18 years or older. Obviously one would need to study but there is no degree requirement.
Does that make the difference between the two professions clear?

I have been working with my mother-in-law, who is an artist, for the past 3 years. Here is a link to her site www.melanielacki.com. She's really good. I help out with cutting mats for paintings, putting together frames, and assembling everything together. I really enjoy getting to work with her and also learning how to do the different tasks needed to get from pretty painting to framed piece of art on the wall. So if you are ever in need of framing work done or just an opinion or have a question just ask.
Earlier this year I was working in a tax preparation office. I really really liked working there. I enjoyed those I worked for and with as well as the clients. A great benefit from working there was learning all about the tax system and laws and the ins and outs. The knowledge I gained have really benefited us in making decisions about our money. There is a lot of little stuff that is really good to know to maximize your dollar and minimize, legally, your tax liability. So if you ever need some help with your taxes I can refer you to a great office with great employees who want to help you keep your money in your pocket, legally.
Obviously now I'm at home with Cassidy, though some days I think it would be a lot easier to be back at a 9-5 job. I love being home with her though and wouldn't trade this time for anything. I don't get as much done as I'd like, but I am learning how to get more done and with Cassidy sleeping better and better during the day, there is more and more time.

What a cutie!!

2008-11-12T10:58:00.000-08:00

I never did post any pictures of little Cassidy from Halloween, we didn't go trick or treating but we did dress her up in her pumpkin jumper and hat and went to Grandma and Grandpa's. They have life size wood cut outs of Frankenstein and a witch. I will have to post those pictures later as I have to scan them first. But here is Cassidy all cute.
She is doing so well. We have started "training" her to sleep. One night at 4 in the morning, I was trying to put her to bed after nursing her and after my third failed attempt I couldn't take it any more. I remembered that she would fall asleep after about 15 minutes of tummy time (and screaming because she doesn't like tummy time) so I thought well than let's see if she'll go to sleep on her own if I just put her in her crib. It worked. She cried for about 10 minutes then fell asleep. The next night I would put her in her crib whether she was asleep or not after feeding her. She would whimper for a few minutes then fall asleep. Yeah. The fourth night Joe got brave and put her down for the night completely awake and not in a good mood if I must be truthful. But after about 20 minutes asleep she was. Last night was even easier. She is really getting the hang of it, or so it seems right now. Crib=sleep. No going in after she's down unless she hasn't nursed on both sides and she's still crying after 20 minutes.
I thought I would do that until she was 3 months (in 8 days) before I started trying it with naps. But today I tried it. We were doing a little grocery shopping and she looked tired. She had been awake for about an hour and a half but was looking like it was time to sleep again. So we got home, I wrapped her in a blanket and put her in her crib. She whimpered for about 5 minutes, that was 30 minutes ago.
I am glad that we waited to really "train" her till we could see that she was capable of calming herself down and falling asleep. In the past if we put her down she would cry and cry and cry and work herself up so we kept waiting. And I think we hit the nail on the head in terms of timing. And get this. When she goes down at night, between 8-9 she'll be down for 11-13 hours in total, only getting up to eat 2 times!! Talk about a good night!! Woo hoo.
Sorry to always be talking about Cassidy sleeping. It seems like that has been the biggest "problem" or thing that we have. She eats great, always has, she loves to be outside and go for walks, she gets bored with being in one spot or not being able to look around. I am sure that most new parents would put dealing with the sleep interruptions as one of the top "things" that most be figured out with a new baby. So they, you, understand, where I am coming from.
What else is new? Joe and I celebrate our second anniversary this month!! Woohoo!! We've been together for 4 years now, crazy how time flies. Throw in a baby and it really gets moving. We are getting our yard and garden ready for winter. Lots of onions and garlic and maybe even some beans and lettuce, I don't have a green thumb for lettuces. We are using up the last of our summer garden items. We still have bushes of tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini. There are a number of baby watermelon still on the vine but there is no way those will mature. Darn. Next year we'll have tons (I hope). How nice it's been to be able to make homemade soups and stews and breads using the stuff from our garden. That is one good thing about having a yard that is virtually full sun EVERYWHERE, lots of veggie and fruit plants like the sun. I'm already planning for the next summer harvest because those seeds get started in January. Early start means early harvest! I love having a garden, except for the weeds.

Hard Morning

2008-10-12T07:49:00.000-07:00

This morning we had Cassidy exuding fluids from 4 different orifices. December was at her wits end.
Cassidy did have time to pose for a cute shot in between feeding and multiple changes of diapers and outfits.

Joe's Cousin Jake got Married!

2008-10-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

There was much celebration as Jake tied the knot with a beautiful bride, Rowan, on Saturday. Joe and December drove 3 hours with Cassidy up to Chico to support his cousin. We had fun showing off the baby and meeting extended family.

Stupidity

2008-10-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Have you ever done something out of anger and then felt like the biggest idiot afterwards and knew that you couldn't pray hard enough to get the clock to turn back and take back the action? I have.

I don't even remember which day it happened, only that it was between 14 and 21 days ago, and in the middle of the night. I can vaguely remember the moment now. I didn't even remember doing it until yesterday while I was wondering the aisles at Target.
I got so mad at Joe one night at 2 am that I threw something valuable, and small, across the room, something I would never, in my right mind, ever risk losing, my wedding ring. After putting Cassidy back to sleep that night and going to sleep I forgot about my precious ring until weeks later. I couldn't even remember which room I was in or where I threw it. I searched and searched, Joe searched and searched. I prayed and prayed. Yesterday and today I kept looking in the same spot over and over because it felt like the right spot. After conference I came home and looked again, I was tipping over furniture and looking under things, exactly what I had done numerous times before. Then I heard a knock at the door and as I got up off the floor I saw it, my ring. Where it came from I do not know. Which nook it fell out of I do not know. All I knew was there it was, I had it back.

What lessons have I learned? Prayers are answered as we continue to act in faith to answer the prayers. Actions performed in anger usually don't turn out well and usually become regrets. Never trifle with things or people that are valuable to you, you might not get it, them, back. When I thought that I might not find my ring again I was mostly upset that I had "lost" it in a moment of anger and that I could have avoided the whole heartache.

What's my point it posting this? 1) Prayers work- say them. 2) Don't do things in anger that you wouldn't otherwise do. 3) When you're sleep deprived your memory is not good, so be careful. 4) Don't do what I did.

I spoke too soon?

2008-10-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

Everyone says that babies grow up really quick (which I know is true) so ever since Cassidy was born I told myself that I would take it one day at a time. That effectually meant no wishing for the day that she would... whatever, I would just enjoy (or just deal) with the day at hand. So when she all of a sudden she became a "different" baby at 2 1/2 weeks and found her vocal cords I didn't wish for the day that she would get past all the crying, screaming, and fussiness. I had read that 6 weeks is the typical peak in fussiness so I had to remind myself not to wish her to be 6 weeks old.

Today Cassidy turned 6 weeks and for the last couple of days I thought, wow, she really has turned the corner on the fussiness and crying. Her sleeping was getting a little better at night and during the day, that's a whole other story. But we had "a day" today. She would to want to nurse then fall asleep while on the first side, then she'd sleep for oh 20 minutes and wake up and be hungry again. Then the cycle would start all over again. I feel like all I did today was feed her. I felt like we were back to the "old" well the "second" Cassidy. But she sure did smile at me a lot today and that was awesome. She is so darn cute.

Think about how much time is spent nursing in a day. Let's say 10-15 minutes per side per feeding and there are 8-10 feedings in a day (for a newborn). Doing the math means 8*10= 80 minutes at the very least and up to 10*15*2=300 minutes!!! I think I hit the 300 mark today. Even if they don't eat for the full 15 minutes it may take that long to get everything going. Sorry to those who don't want to hear about nursing but if you have kids or know someone who does who is nursing consider that when she says she didn't get much done that day, that may be the reason. A labor of love. My solution= a good book.

One thing I am excited for, to know really, is how big she is getting. She'll have her 2 month appointment in 2 1/2 weeks. I can't wait to know how much she weighs and if her head is catching up with her body. When she was born her head circumference was in the 10th percentile, at the 2 week appointment she was in the 25th percentile while her weight was in the 50th and her length was in the 75th. I think she'll be about 9 1/2 pounds by then but I am excited to know for certain. I would love to know that information about her any day.

The days are different

2008-09-20T21:12:00.001-07:00

Some say that getting married makes your world turn upside down. Some say it happens when you start having kids. If I were to tell the story of our adventures and challenges it probably would be the pro log to what is to come. No matter what we do there will always be that time when we think that we are going through the hardest time, then look back and see that it was another hurdle in the path up a mountain. So I would say this: do not despair, do not think all is lost, or let your heart faint. Like Annie said - "the sun will come out tomorrow", and we will be OK.

Lately Cassidy has been the catalyst to reveal new truths about parent-parent relationships. Love is not something felt only...it is something we do!!

What happened???

2008-09-09T02:05:00.000-07:00

So in the beginning Cassidy slept. So much so the nurses worried. Something changed. Darn. The last two nights she's been getting up much more frequently, like every hour from 1:30 am on. My watch so Daddy could sleep ang be rested for work. Tonight he got his (turn, that is). When he got home she had just gone down fir a nap, but woke only 90 minutes later. She was hungry, as is normal for her. So she ate and looked like she'd go back down. So Joe let me go to bed. She stayed up till 1:30 am, mostly fussing and crying, and spitting up. Poor Joe. He got me up around 12:30, nervous about the noises she was making and I think at a loss fir what to do to try to get her to sleep. I took over and almost immediately the fussing stopped. She was asleep with not too much work. I feel for Joe, he really got the short end tonight. Now she's stll asleep in my arm as I type this at 2:15 in the morning.

I know that at this age any smiling is 'accidental' but I can't help but say that when Cassidy smiles, especially her open mouth smile, it is the most beautiful thing in the world. I try not to look forward to the future, just enjoying today, but when she smiles I can't help but look firward to the day she smiles intentionally, for Joe and me.