Planet Earth

Has anyone else seen it? Ryan and I are pretty much addicted to watching it every Sunday. It is the coolest nature show I have ever seen! As I watch it, I gain a much greater appreciation for the creation of the earth and everything that lives here. It just seems like everything has been so perfectly organized to fulfill its purpose on the planet. What an amazing show! I can't wait until we get it on video and our children are old enough to appreciate the things it shows.

Update to my last post

So, I mentioned in my last post that Whitney hadn't rolled over since she did it for the first time last week. Just this morning, I walked in to her room and found her laying on her back in her bassinet. She's usually a tummy sleeper, (won't sleep any other way!), and so I knew she had rolled over again. I have yet to see her roll with my own eyes. Maybe she likes the "stealth" rolling--but I'd love to see her in action!

The Difference Between the First Kid and the Rest of 'Em

This past week, Whitney rolled over for the first time...and she hasn't done it again since.

I was thinking about how it was when Kallie rolled from front to back for the first time. Kallie rolled over on the DAY she turned 3 months. I remember Kallie and I were in Arizona with my family and Ryan was home in Utah working. I could tell she was going to roll over, so I whipped out the video camera and caught her rolling for the first time on video. I didn't want Ryan to miss that milestone!

Whitney's story is completely different! I had been wondering for a little while when Whitney would hit the rolling over milestone--since she is a full month older than Kallie was when she rolled. So--some time last week, I think it was Wednesday, I had finished feeding Whitney and put her on the floor to play while I got a few things done. Kallie was running around playing and Ryan was getting ready to leave for work. I was standing at the sink in the basement kitchen and I happened to glance into the family room and see that Whitney was on her back. Since she had been on her tummy when I left the room, I realized that she had finally rolled over. I yelled to Ryan that Whitney finally rolled over and we got on with our day. It was definitely a change from the way things went with the first child!

I just hope that we're able to still see the special accomplishments that each of our children make, instead of thinking, "Yeah, yeah--we've seen this all before."

I think I'm not so typical

Most wives have a HUGE problem, (or at least some problem), with their husbands video game habits. The reason I think I'm somewhat a-typical is that I LOVE when Ryan plays his Legend of Zelda games! (Right now, it's Twilight Princess.) In fact, he is well aware of the fact that he's not allowed to play if I can't be there watching. I love to follow the story lines and "help" him figure out the puzzles. I put help in parentheses because most of the time, he totally knows what to do--but patiently listens to my "suggestions" anyway. I do have to say, however, there have been puzzles that I have figured out or that we have figured out together--and those are the msot fun for me!

For the past few months, he hasn't been playing much because we were getting the condo ready to show and then moving. I have begged and begged and begged him to play--but there were always more important things to do. (Like spend time with his kids and non-T.V. time with his wife!) Now that things have settled down, the past couple of weeks have been great because we have played his game every night! I know I'm weird, but I can't wait for him to conquer the next dungeon or find the next golden bug or... You get the drift...

Goin' for a Spin

So--I posted about my new stroller the other day. And, today, I finally got to take it out for a REAL spin! I took the girls for a 2-mile walk and it was SO great! Not only do I still LOVE my stroller, but I LOVE that I was able to get out of the house and get exercise while the girls were awake. What a good feeling!

Kallie really enjoyed being outside and Whitney just looked around while sucking on her fingers--and she even fell asleep toward the end. We walked a 1/2 mile to a park with a walking track that's next to the local high school. There is a big grassy area in the middle of the track and it looked like a Boy's P.E. class was playing flag football in the grassy area. While we were walking near where the boys were playing, Kallie looked up and noticed that some of the boys weren't wearing shirts and said, "Mommy! Nay-ted, nay-ted!" I don't think they could hear her, but I was sure laughing to myself about her realization.

Toward the end of the walk, Kallie got a little restless and so we sang for about the last 1/3 mile. It was a trick singing, pushing the stroller, and trying to keep a brisk pace, but the "challenge" (if you will) was fun for me. I can only imagine what the neighbors must have thought as we walked by singing "Popcorn Popping," though!

Not sure what happened...

...but Whitney slept ALL night last night without needing a binky! She did still wake up at 5 a.m., but that was because the last time I fed her was between 5-5:30 p.m. the evening before. Yesterday, she sucked on her fingers twice, instead of a binky, when I was putting her to sleep. Knowing this, I decided that swaddling her so she couldn't reach her arms was probably a bad thing. So, now I swaddle her bottom 1/2 and leave her arms free when she's sleeping. As I'm typing this, I'm thinking, "Duh, Amanda! In every ultrasound I had, her hands were by her mouth--of course she finds that comforting."

The other wonderful part of this is that all day today, I have put her in bed awake and she has gone to sleep on her own. I cannot even explain how wonderful that is for me! It's like the fact that she's supposed to be sleeping at certain times is finally clicking for her. Woo-hoo!!

I...Need...Sleep

I am so tired today. For some reason, sweet little Whitney, who just a few weeks ago was sleeping pretty well through the night, has recently decided that sleeping through the night is overrated. I, for one, can guarantee that's not true. Neither Ryan nor myself can figure out why in the world she has started waking at night again. Now her sleeping schedule has been thrown completely off--and so we're dealing with a fussier, sleeping-less baby. I guess this is just a perk of parenthood. Hopefully in the next few days, she'll calm down and start sleeping a little better.

Ready to Roll!

I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am! My double stroller came on Friday!! Last Saturday, Ryan and I went shopping for a double stroller. I had decided that if I could take the girls out for a walk in the morning, I would be able to exercise while they were awake instead of waiting for them to sleep at the same time...which is like playing the lottery. Anyway--my sweet husband told me that all I had to do was find the one I wanted. So, off we went.

We got to Babies R' Us (BRU) and headed to the very small double stroller section. I wanted something that would hold the car seat and that was bigger than a double umbrella stroller. I wasn't interested in a jogging stroller either because I don't like jogging. The only thing we found was a Graco DuoGlide. It's very similar to the Graco LiteRider, which is a little flimsy for my taste. Somewhat disappointed, we started to leave the double stroller aisle when one of the BRU sales girls came walking down the aisle with a BEAUTIFUL double stroller. I took one look at it and knew it was what I wanted. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it was a Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe Duo. It has all of the features that I love about my single stroller, but in a double! Unfortunately, BRU only carried the one color scheme, French Roast, (chocolate brown and lime green), and they didn't have any in stock. It is so new that they only have a floor model and have to order it in if anyone wants one.

So, I headed home to hop on the internet and figure out where else I could find a Quattro Tour Duo. They are actually really hard to find because most websites list them as "Out of Stock." Maybe they're selling so fast they can't keep them in stock or maybe they haven't received their inventory yet. Finally, after searching and searching, I found a Quattro Tour Duo in Metropolitan, (which is black and silver and goes with our car seat WAY better than French Roast), at USA Baby for the MSRP and NO SHIPPING! So, I feel like I got a great deal on the stroller.

Anyway--it came on Friday, (the free shipping was FedEx and came 3 days from when I ordered it), and we assembled the few small required assembly parts. I have been dying to take it for a spin and I got to take it out today. I'm sure people thought I was SO weird to take my SUV stroller into their stores, but I was so happy with it that I didn't care! I can't wait to start going for walks this week!

Whitney's Four Month Appointment

Whitney had her four month appointment on Monday, even though she won't hit that milestone until Saturday. I can't believe she's already almost four months! Where has the time gone?

She is a very healthy little bean. Whitney is now 12 lbs. 7 oz. and 24 1/4 inches long. That puts her in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height! I can't believe she's that tall, as neither Ryan nor myself are particularly gifted in that respect. I can start feeding her solids any time now, but I think I'm going to wait a bit for that. Kallie, it seemed, needed cereal at this age to help her sleep. But, Whitney is sleeping really well so far.

We're still waiting for her to roll over. Kallie rolled from front to back on the day she marked 3 mos. Maybe I haven't given Whitney enough tummy time or something--but she just doesn't seem interested in rolling yet. I guess if she gets to 6 months and hasn't rolled, I'll worry. But, for now, I just love watching my little smiley baby kick and play and just be herself.

Poor Kallie!

I don't know what it is lately, but Kallie has managed to get all sorts of bumps and bruises in the past few days.

Toward the end of last week, (I think this was on the running away day), Kallie climbed up on a chair at the table and grabbed the napkins. She likes to blow her nose once on each one--and I didn't want her to waste them like she had done the day before. So, I took away the napkins and warned her to put her bottom on the chair. As I was saying this, she started jumping on the chair to protest the napkin removal and promptly fell off the chair. She didn't bump her head, thank goodness, or break or sprain anything...Whew!

Sunday night, as we were all sitting around talking after dinner, Kallie decided that she wanted to walk between her highchair tray and the table--and she didn't fit. So, she pressed her head into the space and pushed her way through. She made it to the other side, but not without gaining a scrape/table burn on her forehead in the process.

Then, I took Whitney to the Dr. for her 4 month appointment, and Kallie tripped a few times as we walked in and out. I was holding her hand, so she didn't totally fall, but she managed to get some minor scrapes on her knees.

Yesterday, during the stressful hour-before-dinner time, Kallie needed a diaper change. I turned around for 15 seconds to get a diaper and when I looked back at Kallie, she was standing up from where the cat was laying and started to cry. Knowing that she had already been teasing the cat a little earlier, I was not shocked to see that the cat had finally had enough and scratched her face, right under her eye. I was SUPER grateful that he hadn't scraped her eye--that was slightly scary. So, now she has a scratch across her cheek to go with the mark on her forehead.

After comforting her, I needed to change her diaper, so I told her to lay down. Instead of going over to the carpet, where we usually change her, she layed right down on the wood floor. So, I just changed her right there. There must have been something poky where she layed down because when she stood up, she had a red mark on her back. I felt awful about that one!

I'm just hoping her rash of scrapes, bumps, and bruises is over for now!

I love our new set-up!

I posted in an earlier blog that I had moved Whitney into Kallie's room with her. I was pretty nervous about the transition and how it would affect my kids' sleeping cycles. I'm really big on allowing them (even helping them) to get enough sleep--so naptime and night time are important to me. Needless to say, I wanted to make sure they were both getting enough sleep with this new arrangement. And, so far, they are! There has been a very small learning curve in getting this new arrangement to work, though.

I learned that we have to put Kallie to bed first or put them to bed at the same time. If Whitney goes down first, she doesn't understand that she's supposed to be sleeping. Kallie, on the other hand, understands that and doesn't ask to get out of bed if I'm putting Whitney to sleep. I've also learned that Kallie is a great adapter. She adjusted to sharing a bedroom like that's the way its always been. Next step will be a toddler bed--and I'm nervous about that one, as well. But, if the adjustment is as smooth as this last one, we'll all be just fine.

Easter Weekend

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog, (which I'm guessing isn't very many!), were probably wondering if I really did run away after my last post. Well, I didn't. I'm still here. That night, Ryan took care of giving Whitney her binky and I slept. It was wonderful. And, Saturday night, she only woke up at 5 a.m. I got up and put her binky back in her mouth and she slept until about 7:30. It made such a difference in how I was feeling. I also got the chance to go to the temple with Ryan on Saturday morning--and that helped, too. I think it's the second time since Whitney was born that we have gone somewhere without at least one kid. I love my kids--but that was a good feeling for a little while!

Our Easter celebration was wonderful and pretty low-key. Sunday morning, we got Kallie up and she played with the things in her Easter basket. Her favorite item was a four-pack of sunglasses that I got for $2 at Wal-Mart. She LOVES her "gyasses" and is constantly searching for the ONE color that she can't find. Kallie also got some outside toys, a shovel, rake, and hoe, and a little watering can. She begged us ALL day to put water in her "wah-wah tan." It's been so cold recently that I haven't let her use it with water yet! We didn't do an Easter basket for Whitney because she's so young still.

Kallie looked like a princess in her Easter dress. I'll have to post some pics sometime soon. Church was good, but I was somewhat distracted with the kids during sacrament meeting. At the end of Nursery, Kallie got a brown bag, cut to look like a bunny, from her nursery leaders. It was the CUTEST little thing!

On a side note, I LOVE the nursery in this ward. Our other ward's nursery was fine, but for some reason, Kallie cried every week when we dropped her off. So far, she hasn't cried once when we've dropped her off in this ward. I don't know what the difference is, but she's much more comfortable here--and that is SUCH a relief as a parent.

Sunday evening, we had a family dinner with lots of yummy food. We didn't do an Easter egg hunt, although Kallie has been asking for pink eggs, (from what we colored on Saturday night), every morning since then. So cute! Overall, it was just a really nice, easy day--which after last week was exactly what I needed!

Running Away

Do you ever have those days that you just feel like running away from life? Not really for a long time...but just for a little while?

Today is one of those days for me. I've already been a little stir crazy this week--and I want to take the girls for a walk, for the sole purpose of getting out of the house. But, we don't have a double stroller yet, so I take Kallie into the backyard and we play with her ball and with bubbles. And, even with that, I'm still feeling SO cooped up and ready to RUN. Of course, I never would. I love my kids and husband WAY too much to do that. But, the feeling still exsists.

After about a week and a half of not being able to use my room if Whitney was sleeping, which is a HUGE chunk of the day, I finally got tired of it and we moved her into Kallie's room yesterday. So far, things are going OK. The only problem is that Whitney woke up every hour to hour and a half last night. I didn't want her to wake Kallie up, so I'd sneak into the room and settle her back down, then go back to bed. Being tired today probably doesn't help the running away feeling.

Then, this morning, Kallie was getting into everything possible. Some days, I feel like I follow her around the house saying "Uh-oh!" and having her help me put away the things she's getting into. Or--she's frequently in time out because she chooses not to help clean up her messes. Today is one of those days.

For the moment, both girls are napping. I need to go shower, fold some laundry, eat some lunch, and do a few other minor things. I know that these days will be all too short--and in a few years, I will look back and wonder where the time went. But, just for today, I'm wondering if I will ever get to sleep until I want to wake up in the morning...if I will ever NOT have diapers to change...and if I will ever be able to get completely ready for the day, including showering and exercising, before it's time for bed again! Maybe someday.

Oh, Saw-Yee!

Kallie cracks me up! There are so many cute and funny things she says every day that I just laugh almost all day long. The only time I'm not laughing is between 5-6 p.m. while I'm trying to fix dinner. For some reason, the girls like to gang up on me and fuss and beg to be held RIGHT THEN. Anyway...I digress...

Kallie's latest funny phrase is "Oh, saw-yee!," which she says any time she accidentally runs into, hits, or otherwise touches anything she wasn't planning to touch. A few days ago, she was running through the downstairs kitchen, where we have our scale, and she kicked it. Instead of crying that she stubbed her toes, she said, "Oh, saw-yee!" The same day, she was scooting on her little push-bike through the house and I accidentally stepped a little too close and hit the handle bars. What came out of her mouth? "Oh, saw-yee!"

I love that she just started saying this all on her own. She cracks me up and I can't wait to hear what she says every day!

Potty Training

Well, I think it's time to start the monstrous task of potty training. A couple of months ago--maybe even before Whitney was born, Kallie sat on the potty once. I think it was a bit traumatic for her, as she fell in and got a wet little bum. When I see her "working on" something, I'll usually ask if she wants to go sit on the potty. And, any time she tells me that she has poops or pee-pees, I'll ask her if she wants to sit on the potty--and every time, her answer is, "No Waaaaaay!"

Well, yesterday, she was telling me that she had poops, so I asked her my usual question. And, she said, "Yeah!!" So, to the potty we went. She didn't do anything, but she sat for about 10 minutes, looking around, talking, and singing as she waited. This morning, she requested to sit on the potty and just sat for a few minutes. When I told her that she would get a sticker if she put her poopies or pee-pees in the potty, she tooted a couple of times. This afternoon, she sat for about 15 minutes and made lots of toots again. I was so excited that I had her call Daddy and tell him what she did. I realize there are still no Kallie poopies or pee-pees in the potty, but the fact that she tooted means she knows what she's supposed to do there!

The thought of only ONE baby in diapers is SO appealing to me. But, the thought of getting there is somewhat daunting. I'm not sure if she's really ready yet, since she hasn't had a dry diaper after a nap. She does tell me when she has gone or is going potty, though, and with her increased interest in the potty, I figure it can't hurt to try and encourage this behavior. Wish me luck!

Mission Memories

This past weekend, between the Sunday morning and afternoon conference sessions, Channel 5 did a story about the dedication of the Helsinki, Finland temple. Of course, I was interested in watching the story because that's the temple the people I worked with on my mission will now attend. Imagine my surprise and delight when they did individual features about people in each of the Baltic countries! And, to make it even more fun, I knew most of them! Granted, I didn't know most of them very well because they weren't Russian-speaking, but I did see them every week at church and talked to them from time to time. They also showed footage of every city I served in and some of the countryside places we visited as missionaries.

Since then, I have been terribly homesick for my mission. Since coming home, there is a small piece of my heart that misses those people and places every day. But, that day, that small part took over the rest of my heart. It's slowly shrinking back to its normal place--but I just want to go back! I want to speak Russian, and go see all of my places, and just go enjoy being there once again. I know as a non-missionary that it will be different--but just to be there again would truly fill my heart with so much joy! For the rest of the day on Sunday, I kept thinking in Russian and I still have Russian words pop into my mind throughout the day. Maybe one day, I'll have the opportunity to go back--but for now--I have a different mission to focus on.

A New Toy

Tonight, Ryan and I had to run to Wal-Mart for a few things. I've come to realize that retail therapy is fast becoming my favorite way to self-medicate from the routine-ness of life. Therefore, a quick trip to the store usually ends up costing a LOT more than I intended it to when I walked in. This trip followed that pattern pretty well.

I knew that I wanted to get a few more things for Kallie's Easter basket tonight--and I warned Ryan about that before I walked in. But, the real danger came when we walked by the Cricut machines and saw that the cartridges, which are normally about $90 were on sale for $45! It was an offer that I REALLY couldn't refuse! Although I wanted to buy a few of them, I couldn't justify spending close to a hundred dollars or more on Cricut cartridges tonight--especially when we're trying to save up for living expenses while Ryan's in grad school.

I finally ended up with "Doodlecharms" which has lots of cute little pictures, instead of a font. It will even make little tags and cards with a cutout of one of the cute little pictures at the bottom. I was so excited that I had found such a great deal! Now, I need to come up with something fun and interesting to make so I can play with my new toy.

The Hardest Things

I have been learning lately that the most difficult things for us to do are sometimes the best.

As a SAHM, life can get rather mundane and boring really fast. It takes about 2 diapers within the first half-hour that you're awake to remind you that you're not only going to be doing this today, but you will go to bed that night, wake up tomorrow morning, and do it all over again...and again...and again. It seems like the mommy tasks never end. It's nice to have things to think about through the day other than diapers, Blue's Clues, and what you're fixing for the next meal.

For the past 2 1/2 years, I have had a message board where I keep up with several friends--and it was such a great support and distraction throughout my day. It really kept my life from getting too mundane and gave me other things to think about. I really love talking to the girls on there. They had diverse thoughts and opinions and I enjoyed honing my own opinions as a result of talking to them.

Then, one day last week, I started feeling like I was spending way too much time on the computer. I have to admit, I didn't listen to the feeling at first. I would still get on my board and end up spending an entire naptime reading and answering the topics. No matter how much I tried to tell myself I'd only be on for 15 minutes, it would inevitably turn into 1-2 hours of chatting with the girls. Finally, after spending yet another entire naptime on the internet, the feeling that I needed to focus on other things and use my time more effectively was so strong that I thought I was going to explode. So, I said "goodbye for now" to all of my friends and deleted my bookmark. I still have the link in my e-mail, but it's not as tempting to fall into my old habits as when the bookmark was still at the top of my Internet Favorites list.

For the most part, I think I've been really good about not being tempted to get back on. I see how much I can accomplish in a day now and love that I get so much done. On the other hand, I really do miss my friends. Reading about other moms' lives, in comparison to my own, made life a little more interesting. In all reality, it was really hard to leave my friends. But, I have realized in the past several days that it has been for the best. I don't know when and if I'm going to go back to my board again. I'm afraid that if I go back, I'll fall into my old habits and I don't want to do that again. But, I really want to at least keep in touch with my friends on the board. I guess we'll see what happens in the next few weeks...