Crunching Leaves

We went on a little shopping trip with Nana and little A loved running in the mall. She especially loved seeing herself in windows and mirrors.

Allan finished installing the baseboards in our house! Upstairs, and downstairs! We still have to putty and paint, but they are in! And it looks beautiful! Thanks to his Dad for letting us borrow his saw!

Allan also planned a really sweet date for us this week. He made chocolate fondue, and we had a candlelit fondue dessert. It was so fun! 

Little A continues to walk/run like a pro. She's gotten more comfortable on uneven surfaces this week. She also swang in the big-kid swings and didn't fall out! She still hates slides and makes terrified noises whenever anyone goes down them.

She learned how to "crunch" leaves by stomping on them and has been having a ball stomping on all the leaves she can. Her aim needs some improvement though. Sometimes she'll stomp her little foot and nothing will happen, and then she looks down all confused, ha!

Her favorite place to play right now is Momma and Daddy's bed. She'll get a toy and run in there and tell me she wants up, and then we'll play with the toy, play peek-a-boo with the blankets, and just laugh and giggle about being on the big bed. Eventually she gets down, runs to her room and asks to be in her bed. She laughs and giggles, jumps up and down and plays peek-a-boo and then we run to our bed and do it all over again.

We got some tennis balls a few weeks ago for massage purposes and little A adopted one as her own. She loves it more than any of her other balls. She'll chase it all around the house and likes to bring it on walks. She's very good about not throwing it into the street.

K6 coaches the high school dance team in a nearby town, and her team collaborated with the dance team where we live on a dance. They performed it this weekend and we went and watched. (It was way past A's bedtime, but she was such a good little trooper.) They did a really good job. Little A cheered and clapped for them. 

I put little A in a box again. The last time I tried this she cried and cried, this time she laughed. She didn't like it for very long though. I also tipped this box over and put some toys in it so she could crawl in and play. She thought it was funny that her toys were in the box, but she sure didn't want to go in it to get them. She finally did go in just far enough to reach and pull them out.

We started playing our own version of "Hide and Seek". We call it "Find Mamma". I'll run and hide, and she'll follow my voice until she can find me. She's been loving it and thinks its really funny when I switch up my usual hiding spots.

The other morning I was reading little A her scriptures and she decided she didn't want to read them anymore. She got off of my lap and proceeded to pile all the books she wanted to read on my lap (which was all of them).

I usually clean when little A is napping, but since she can walk now I am trying to get her to help me. I gave her a rag with a little water on it, showed her how to wipe the cabinets, and asked her to clean them for me. That lasted for about 2 seconds, ha! She wanted to help me clean the toilet, but I didn't think that was a very good idea. So, I sat her down on the stool, and she sat there quietly until I was done. She does love to wipe the table off after dinner though. She also helps me set the table for dinner and is very good at cleaning up her toys.

We also started a new game with Daddy that we like to call "Hop on Pop" (our inspiration is of course the Dr. Seuss book of the same name). Allan was lying on the floor all tired out from working on the baseboards all day. I said to little A, "lets go hop on Daddy! Lets go tickle him!" So she followed me over and tickled Daddy with me and then lay on top of him! Ha! We don't really hop on him, just tickle and "wrestle" him. She did it without me today! She has successfully been trained to sit on Daddy when he lays down on the floor. :)

We started our Sunday with some snuggle time watching some Mormon Messages. Gotta love those snuggles!

What Happens When Mamma Gets Sick

Little A gets so bored that she decides she can walk by herself.

Daddy's beard gets longer and longer and longer.

Our house gets really messy.

Chronic Pain

WARNING: If you don't want to know the details of my weird body don't read any further.



I woke up a couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday morning in extreme pain from my shoulders to my knees. I could barely walk, couldn't stand up straight, was super nauseated, and felt like my organs were swollen.

I took a bunch of Ibuprofen, and that took the edge off so that I could get through the day. By Friday the severity of the pain had decreased to just below my belly button to just below my hips. My abdomen swelled so huge that I couldn't wear my normal pants, and I had to go shopping to get some pants that I could wear comfortably. Since then the pain has gotten a lot more manageable (thank goodness), and the swelling in my abdomen has decreased, although I still can't wear my pants.

I had an x-ray the following Monday and then an ultra sound the next day. The ultra sound showed some large cysts, but they couldn't tell where they were at so they ordered a ct scan.

The ct scan showed a large mass of cysts on the right side moving over into the left side. It's big enough that it shoved my intestines up towards my ribs and part of my colon is almost completely closed off.  So, I have to use stool softeners (lovely), and am back to an easy to digest food diet (lame).

They can't tell where the cysts are coming from though, because most of my organs are hidden by the large mass of cysts.

I have an appointment with a specialist in December. I'm hoping that the cysts are the normal kind that will go away on their own. So far they haven't seemed to get any better.

Now my pain is just in a few spots in my pelvis/abdomen area, and it usually feels like something is pushing out of my body. The pain gets worse when I've walked/moved around a lot, and it hurts pretty bad to sit up normally. But, I can do all the things I need to do, so that's good.

Puddles

Little A and I went on a walk to get us both out of the house for a little while. She discovered the puddles made by someone's sprinkler and had a blast soaking herself to the bone! Puddles are just so much fun! The sprinkler was still on and was spraying onto the road, so she really enjoyed running through that as well.

We usually go to dance class on Wednesday, but I wasn't feeling up to it so we had a play date instead. Thank you to the friend who let me come over at the last minute! We really needed some new faces! Little A had a fun time climbing up and down their couch (ours is still too high for her) and throwing their couch pillows on the floor.

I went to pay some bills one day and the parking lot was filled with water. The city sewer company was doing something. So we parked at the post office and walked over to pay the bills. Little A really enjoyed the walk and picked up pine cone after pine cone. She really seems to like the texture of them. She also was loving her new boots. In the picture above she was showing me her pine cone, but she threw it right before the picture took. 

Allan got the baseboards into our master suite! It looks SO good! I am so excited. We are creeping closer and closer to being done with all of the big changes!!!

I let little A destroy the flower Daddy got her. As you can see she was absolutely thrilled! She loves to pull the petals off, smash them up in her hands, and then throw them on the floor. I always try to teach her to smell them, but she just thinks I'm being silly. I made dinner while she did this, and since I wasn't finished I let her destroy my flowers too. She was doubly thrilled!

We went to visit Allan's family this weekend and see our niece, G, be baptized. Congratulations G! She looked absolutely beautiful! A really enjoyed running after all the other kids. It was a lot of fun to see her try to keep up with them.

Allan has been sporting a beard for the last couple of weeks. So, another highlight of that trip was when Grandpa asked our niece M what Allan had on his face and she replied, "Mud." Lol!

Little A was so exhausted by all of the excitement of being with her cousins that she slept almost the entire drive home! Awesome! Allan and I had some really good conversations; it was a really nice opportunity to catch up with each other a little.

Last night we had a massive thunder storm. the wind was really loud, lots of thunder and lightning, and it hailed. When we opened up the blinds this morning we saw a lot of hail in our backyard. The storm woke both Allan and I up, but little A slept through it! We were surprised because she has been waking up at night lately, but the storm didn't bother her at all.

Little A ate some Halloween Oreos with her halloween bib. :)  She loves Oreos. How did she know to take the top off and eat the middle first? Neither Allan or I do this, and she hasn't seen anyone else eat them. 

Little A gives the best hugs! She wraps her little arms around your neck and squeezes with all her might. I always cradle her head in my hand when I hold her and lately she has been doing the same thing to me. Melts my heart.

We went on a family walk today. It was so much fun! Little A had a ball kicking the leaves (they were too wet to crunch) and splashing in the puddles. She also really enjoyed running her hands through the tall grass on one side of the sidewalk where there is an empty lot of land. The grass is as tall as she is.

General Conference

I've said before how much little A hates slides. As much as she hates slides she loves swings and merry-go-rounds. Sometimes I think she could stay on them all day. I'm fine with the swings, but merry-go-rounds make me sick. Bleh.

We had a friend over for a little bit on Tuesday. A loves to play with this cute girl, E. They are about the same age and play really well together. They had a nice conversation over some cookies I'd made.

The cookies were a big hit. A liked to sit back in her high chair with her feet up and eat them while I made dinner. She would really savor them, taking small bites and sucking on them.

I bought a snowsuit for A last year at the end of winter. It is still a bit big, but it will work. No one makes snowboots small enough to fit her infant sized feet though, so I am going to have to special order some. Then we'll be all ready for winter! It has already started frosting at night here, so we need to get prepared.

Little A also discovered how fun it is to play underneath her high chair and eat all the food she dropped onto the floor. She thinks it's hilarious and giggles the whole time!

Allan brought home some flowers for little A and I. A was THRILLED! She wanted to start ripping it apart immediately, so I gave her some babies breath and am saving the rose until it starts to wilt.

Little A has the cutest dimples ever! (Please excuse her messy hair, we were all still in our pajamas.)

On Wednesday I got really sick, so we snuggled pretty much the rest of the weekend. I'm so glad I have such a sweet little girl to snuggle me and give me kisses when I don't feel well. She is such a treasure. On Friday morning she patted me on the arm and said with a concerned look on her face, "You okay? You okay?"

We had my family over to celebrate my Mom's birthday. Little a helped Daddy prepare by sweeping the floor. She is now in love with the broom and wants to push it around the house continually. Thankfully she can't open the doors yet, so she can't get it out of the closet.

Thursday little A decided she could walk all by herself! I think she got tired of waiting for me while I've been sick. It was so funny. We play a game where I'll bring her over to the table, and she'll walk to the couch, then I'll bring her to the stairs, and she'll walk to the couch, etc. For a long time that's the only way I could get her to walk by herself. Thursday she must have been really bored because she suddenly got down off of the couch and walked to the table, then ran to the couch, then walked to the desk, then ran to the couch, etc. I cheered her on and soon she decided she wanted to explore the house, so she took off and walked all around the house like it was no big deal. She still likes to walk only on her terms, but she is more confident and more willing to explore.

We really enjoyed watching General Conference. It is always such a blessing to feel the Spirit that comes when the Prophet and Apostles speak. I was struck this time particularly by their firmness in telling us to read the scriptures every day, have family home evening every week, and pray personally and as a family every day. They say this every conference, but were particularly firm in this one, reminding us that these are commandments from God, and we need to be living them. I was relieved that we are doing all of these things and am looking forward to finding ways we can improve our sincerity in them.

Daddy and little A had a nice snuggle while A chewed on my water bottle. A really liked conference, particularly the singing. Whenever there was a song she would stop and stare intently and listen. During the last session she wanted Allan and I to sing all the songs. The music would start, and she'd look at us expectantly until we would sing, then she'd look back at the computer. If one or both of us stopped she'd turn and look at us and tell us to sing. She'd only look back at the choir when we started singing again.

After the last session we got things ready for my mom's party. Little A really liked the wrapping paper tube.

We checkout out a book at the library called "The Button Box". It's about a little boy who's Grandma has a button box and how he likes to play with the buttons. My Grandma also had a button box (my mom has it now), and it was very similar to the one in the book. A lot of the same buttons, the box was very similar, etc. So we got that book for my mom so she can play with the buttons with the grandbabies, just like we did with our Grandma.

Allan made crepes for dinner, and dessert. They were delicious! We really enjoyed having everyone over. It's always so much fun to be with our family.

Aaaachooo!

I took little A to the park this week after story time. She had a lot of fun swinging and riding the merry-go-rounds and then saw the kids on the slides and decided we needed to go see them. So we headed over (its across the field which is a long trek for someone with such small little legs). We ran up and down the steps for a while, and then she followed a little boy to the top and watched him go down the slide. A hates slides. The last time we went near them she cried. So, I was very surprised when she decided that she wanted to go down. I asked her twice if she was sure she wanted to go down and she kept trying so I sat her on my lap and away we went. She cried. Big huge crocodile tears and shaking sobs. She still hates slides.

I always prepare Allan's breakfast and lunch the night before. He goes into work really early and eats breakfast there as well as lunch. One evening I forgot to pack his breakfast. He didn't notice until he was already at work the next day so he ate his lunch for breakfast and was very hungry come lunch time. He called me, and little A and I got to bring him lunch. It was so fun to see him during the day. A was SO happy to see him and so excited to be at his work.

Little A's feet have finally grown again! She is finally wearing an infant size 3 shoe. They are still a little big on her, but her size 2's are too small. We have a ton of size 2 and size 4 shoes and only 1 pair of size 3, so we made a quick trip to the nearest city to get a couple more pairs of shoes for her. A loves shoes and going to the store, so she was thrilled. She was so excited to be in all the stores and squealed and giggled at all the people. She is such a cutie. While we were standing at the check-out line in one of the stores she had a long conversation with a little girl in front of us that put a smile on everyone's faces. She is delighted with her new shoes.

We had some friends over for dinner the other day. We had green curry chicken and rice. Little A LOVES curry. She ate it very vigorously throughout the whole meal, and Allan and I kept having to pick rice out of her nose. Allan tried to feed her so she wouldn't get anymore stuck up there, but she wouldn't let him. She started sneezing pretty soon after dinner was over and then sneezed rice out of her nose for about 30 minutes! I felt so bad for her. It didn't deter her from eating it the next day though. The picture is of a different day when we had pasta for dinner. She also LOVES pasta and eats it very vigorously, as you can see. (As a side note we are trying to get her to use a fork or spoon, but she usually just chews on them for a while and then throws them on the floor. She doesn't like them. They slow her down.)

Little A is still going poop and potty in the potty like a pro. She even held it until she got to the potty one day! She has also occasionally started telling me when she has to go.

We went to dance class again this week, and A did a little better. She didn't cry, but she wanted me to hold her for most of the class. I got a really good workout, ha! It's rough dancing with a 22lb baby on your hip. She's funny though. Even though she's nervous she wants to do everything. As part of the class we had a dance circle and each child got to go in the middle and show us their moves. A could hardly contain her excitement. She REALLY wanted to go and kept squealing and gesturing to the teacher. The other girls there are all older than her and are really good with her.

We were dancing around the house one day and I started kicking my leg and saying "kick" over and over. Little A thought it was fantastic and soon started kicking her leg too! It was so cute. The first two dance moves she's learned are battements (kicks), and heel stretches. :)

We are almost done painting the basement! Hurray! That was such a huge job that we were really not looking forward to. We have all the walls and ceilings painted, but we got done and discovered that they all needed a second coat. We have one room and the hallway to put a second coat on and then we'll be done!

I made cookies this week, and little A has been thoroughly enjoying them. She was extremely skeptical about the first one I gave to her. She hates bread, and cookies look kind of similar to bread as far as texture goes. She eventually ate a tiny piece. When she discovered what it was she got this huge smile on her face, put her feet up, leaned back in her chair, and savored it while I made dinner. She was very satisfied. I wish I would have gotten a picture.

A is talking more and more. She mostly says "ya", "Mamma", and "Daddy" but she is actually saying them consistently now. She will also say "book", "baba", "food", "yum" and several other words but only when she feels so inspired. And she still spits out new words and phrases at random and then never says them again.

I was researching the developmental stages and the things I'd read says that she should be pointing and naming things. Little A never points. She looks at things. If she wants something she'll say "Mamma" and then look at it, so I guess she's pointing with her eyes. I was talking to Allan about it, and he said that she doesn't point because I never do. I realized that he was right. She also usually greets people with smiles instead of waving, which is also what I do, I have a hard time remembering to wave. So, we are working on pointing and waving around here. (Allan: Little A is just like her Momma. People like to ask if she is a Daddy's girl, but the answer is always no. She adores Kami)

One morning I came into the living room and found A's stacking tower like this. She usually dumps it and scoots them all around and then is done, so I was surprised to find them all in a row and by the colors of the rainbow. When I play with it with her I always sing the rainbow colors song; it must have stuck with her. Also, I think her favorite color is red. If I give her the choice of a color she chooses red almost every time.

I finally got a visiting teaching assignment. I love to go visiting teaching, and little A loves to go too. At our first appointment she was such a sweetie. She sat and played quietly almost until the end. Then she discovered the stairs and enjoyed climbing those until it was time to go. She thought it was really funny to climb up and then try to run away; she would giggle and giggle when I would catch her. Our second appointment was with a friend who has a baby that is about a year younger than A. We've played with them a few times, and they always have a lot of fun. This time it was nap time for him and really close to nap time for her, so they kind of struggled. A loved playing with his toys though.

This is how I ate breakfast this morning. If I eat at the table A cries and wants to sit on my lap, but if I eat on the couch she will usually play with her toys until I'm done. However, this morning she was very insistent that she sit on my lap and continued to pin one of my arms down while I tried to eat. Funny girl.

We had a fun time this morning running around like this...

and wrestling Daddy like this...

but the wrestling quickly turned into hugs and kisses on the nose. We have such a sweet girl!