Tag, you're it.

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

From Drop Box

Here is the sixth photo out of the sixth folder of pictures of us.

From Drop Box

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

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

New blog

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

Beware of the exersaucer

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

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

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

Teeth

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

Our Weekend in the SNOW

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

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