Second Trip to the Ophthalmologist

Y had an appointment to meet with the ophthalmologist again on Friday.  It seems as if it'll be pretty routine for her to go in every 6 months and they will check her vision and monitor the intermittent exotropia.  It was a pretty quick and fairly routine visit.  An assistant came in first and she handed Y a card with 4 letters on it, H, O, V and T.  She instructed Y to match the letters on the card with the ones that would pop up on a television monitor which they had on the opposite side of the room.  Well I assume that most of the patients that come in and are Y's age do not know their full alphabet by recognition because when Y started just calling out the letters that she saw the assistant looked back at me in surprise and asked, "She recognizes all of her letters?"  To which I simply responded, "yep!"  That assistant was truly amazed by not only that but by Y in general, I keep telling people she's one smart little girl (maybe even too smart).

When the doctor came in he just did a few other tests, mostly trying to have her follow a light.  I assume it is in following this light that he is able to recognize if there is a "pulling" of the eye.  After the tests he said that indeed there is a pull but that it seems to be in both eyes but only slightly and she manages to control it very well.  He said that for now there's nothing that they can do to treat it because it is such a mild case but if, in the future, it worsens then we will talk treatment.  So for now we will just be monitoring it and taking her in every 6 months for a checkup.  We're just relieved that it doesn't appear to be getting any worse, and we're hopeful that it'll remain that way.  The doctor seems to think that IF it ever happens to get worse then it will be several years down the road or maybe even never!  That's music to a parent's ears!

2011 Christmas Cards

Each year I write a post sharing our Christmas card with those who we weren't able to mail cards too - I'm a bit late with that post this year, but better late than never. Right?

I typically handmake our cards each year but this year I've found myself too busy for that and so, with the help of a coupon from a friend, I turned to Shutterfly.  I must say that I was extremely pleased with the results and I am even considering doing it again in the future.  I enjoy making the cards myself but this will definitely be an alternative!

I made two cards this year and I'll share both with you below.

Card 1:

Front

Inside

Back

Card 2:

Christmas 2011

We had an awesome Christmas spent in Canada with our family and friends there.  We arrived on Friday evening, had dinner and just relaxed for the night.  On Saturday, Christmas Eve, we went to spend a few hours with a friend who's visiting with her new husband children - it was great to catch up and just sit around laughing and joking.  After returning in the early evening we had dinner and then again sat around talking, mostly laughing at each other or something Y said or did.  She also put on her new princess apron to help Nana B. in the kitchen but really ended up doing pretty much everything but what was intended.



Christmas Eve

 We awoke on Sunday, Christmas morning, to go to church.  I had been preparing Y all week telling her that we would go to church first and then come back to open presents.  Preparing her beforehand as well as her being only 3 and not quite as impatient as she could be helped us attain this seemingly impossible task of convincing her to wait.  Once we came back we even got her to cooperate long enough to take some family photos!

She received lots of gifts and enjoyed slowly unwrapping each one.  She got all the things she requested from Santa, which was really only a Belle Tea Set and princess stuff.  After all the presents were unwrapped she played and all the adults relaxed until it was time for dinner.  Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, it was observed on Monday so B got that day off work too, it was nice to have him for an extended weekend!

I'm still patiently awaiting that year when we'll get to spend Christmas in North Carolina with my family, holidays make me miss home even more.  But we are grateful to have family within an hour's drive of us in which we can go to spend holidays with and be able to enjoy their company. 

Christmas Bows

This year, unlike past years, I had a difficult time finding Christmas dresses for the girls that I really loved. And so I settled for dresses that I thought were okay but I was determined to make them better.  And so I set out to make flower pins for the dresses and matching bows for their hair.  I knitted several different bows and liked none of them until I saw the end result of a couple bows which I had knitted for a friend at church.  I then knew which bows I'd be making for the girls!

Here's the end result:

Bows for their hair

Slightly smaller pins for their dresses.

Priceless

Bissell 3-in-1 hand vac:  $9.48
Cost per kilowatt hour:  $0.154
Relaxing on the couch with Q while B and Y vacuum the floors:  PRICELESS!!

First Taste (of Solids)

Yesterday, Q got her very first taste of solids. It was entertaining to say the least! She lapped it up and out of the spoon and then sort of dived towards the spoon to get the rest in. Check out the video below!

Waiting in anticipation for that first taste...

...almost there...

...the evidence that we were successful!

Happy Birthday

Today is B's 31st birthday.  Being as it's a Monday which also happens to be our designated grocery shopping day, we didn't really do much to celebrate.  After grocery shopping we had pizza (his favorite food), he and Y had birthday donuts (it's his birthday but he allowed her to pick his birthday treat) and then he went off to the gym for a workout.  Later in the week we will go out and all have dinner together at the restaurant of his choice.  It's been a much more low key birthday for him this year as compared to last year.

There are certain times each year when I really realized just how blessed we are to have him be the head of our household.  He's kind, he's gentle, and he's loving.  I know all this about him and I always appreciate those things about him but there's nothing like a special occasion to help remind you even more.  We (me and the girls) are among the luckiest females to ever walk this earth all because he is a part of our lives.  We can rest assured that he will always put our needs (and even our wants) above his own.  He will do all that is in his power for us to be happy.  When we are feeling our worst and thinking little of ourselves, he will be the first one to point out all the good things that may be overshadowed at the moment.  When we are unsure, he will be our biggest cheerleader encouraging us to continue on.  When we fail, he will not criticize and he will never say "I told you so."  And when we get angry and yell at him, he will not yell back.  He's not perfect but he sure is a wonderful example of what we should all strive to be.  I (we) love him for all that he is and for all that he is not!

Since he's now 31, here's 31 things that I love about him:

1. I love how he can think of a quote from a movie in the most random situation or setting.
2. I love his laugh, not his fake laugh but the laugh that he does when he finds something hilarious.
3. I love those 2 moles on either side of his nose.
4. I love to watch him play with our girls.
5. I love that he's a worthy Priesthood holder.
6. I love that I will never have to pay to have our computer repaired.
7. I love that when someone calls him asking about a computer problem or even just to help them create something using the computer he will do whatever he can to help them.
8. I love his little grumbles when I ask him to do something he doesn't really wanna do.
9. I love his fake little whimpers after I've cooked a big meal and I remind him that he has to do the dishes.
10. I love that even though he loves chocolate ice cream he knows that I hate it and thus he will only buy non-chocolate based ice creams.
11. I love that even though he hates getting up early, he wakes up each weekday morning at 4:20am to prepare for work and then does the same most Sunday mornings so that he can be at church for his meetings.
12. I love how he smiles even when I know someone (not me) is annoying him.  They will never know...but I can tell!
13. I love how honest he is, always.
14. I love that he doesn't just tell me what I want to hear.
15. I love that he realizes that even though I'm home with the girls all day that it can still be really hard for me to get things done.  He realizes that the two of them take up most of my time and never asks me what I did all day if the house isn't spotless.
16. I love that he doesn't see cleaning the house as just my responsibility.
17. I love his patience.
18. I love that even during the times that I don't feel attractive, he makes sure to remind me that he thinks I'm hot!
19. I love that he supports what I want to do, even if he has absolutely no interest in it whatsoever.
20. I love his ability to remain calm at moments when I would completely lose my temper.
21. I love it when we're walking or riding in the car or sitting in church and he grabs my hand - granted it doesn't happen nearly as often with 2 very young kids.
22. I love waking up next to him on the few mornings that we're actually able to get up at the same time.
23. I love how he allows my wants to supersede his own.
24. I love how he's taught me to be more financially cautious without counting ever penny I spend or making me feel guilty about spending.
25. I love that I can make fun of him when he's being grouchy and he not get offended.  (YES, he gets grouchy)!
26. I love his dependability.
27. I love that he loves my crazy family.
28. I love it when he sees that I'm a little preoccupied and so he will cook dinner AND do the dishes even though the person who cooks isn't supposed to do the dishes.
29. I love that he kills all the spiders that I find even though he hates them too.
30. I love his perseverance, if there's something he wants he never gives up.
31. I love that I have the ability so spend Time and all Eternity with him!!!!!

I have one amazing husband!!!

4 Month Stats & Hip Dysplasia

Last Wednesday (Dec 7th) we took Q in for her 4 month old well baby visit.  She weighed in at 14 lbs. 1 oz. and 25½ inches long.  She was given the all clear to start solid foods and the doctor even reassured me that doing so may improve the reflux since it's much thicker than breast milk. 

The only thing he found that he expressed a concern about was a "clicking" in her hip while she laid on her back and he did some hip rotations with her.  He didn't want us to get overly concerned so he told us that it may well be nothing (saying it was a click and not a clunk) to worry about but that he would order an ultrasound - better safe than sorry.  I must admit that when I heard him describing it I wasn't concerned at all, the concern didn't come until I came home and started doing a bit of research on the internet.  I found that it was called hip dysplasia and that if not treated before 6 months that it can become much harder to correct and that is where most of the concern began to creep in - Quinn is 4 months and in my eyes that didn't leave a huge window to work with.

When we came home, even though it was only 5 minutes before 5pm and I knew offices would be closing, I immediately called the DMC (children's hospital) to schedule an appointment.  We were able to schedule it for that Friday afternoon.

Before the appointment Brandon gave her a blessing and we had already had family members praying and having her name put on temple prayer rolls.  I knew it may have been overkill as there were no guarantees that she even had it, but I am always one to play it safe with my kids.  The ultrasound took about half an hour and Q really handled it like a champ, especially considering she was really tired.  When it was over we were told that our pediatrician would know no later than the middle of the week.

Today we got the call from our pediatrician and Q does not have Hip Dysplasia!!  Everything looked great on the ultrasound and she is perfectly fine.  To say that it was a huge relief was an understatement even though I knew that had the news been different it could be treated without the need of surgery at her age. 

The First Gingerbread House

A few weeks ago Y started asking if she could build a gingerbread house, so finally last week I decided that we would do it...soon!  I just had to decide between buying one of the kits which range from $8-$10 or use graham crackers and make my own icing and buy all the candy.  Finally after considering it I figured that it'd be cheaper to buy the kit than spend the money on buying all different types of candy - especially since we only wanted to make one house.  So we decided that building the gingerbread house would be our FHE (Family Home Evening for my non-LDS readers) activity on Sunday.

Y was excited and so she rushed through dinner and the FHE lesson and was ready to build her house.  I did all the structural work and then we put on all the candy and icing.  As for the icing she told me what she wanted and where she wanted it and I went to work.  For the most part she stuck to the design of the picture which was on the box. 

Here are some pictures, I think it turned out pretty well!

I love that it comes with a tray with indentions for "structural support."  It was 100 times easier than building with graham crackers!

The hardest part of the whole thing was getting the tree and gingerbread boy to stand up straight...don't let the picture fool you, it was quite difficult!

Yep...her face is covered in sugar and icing.  I'm surprised we managed to get her in bed so easily.

The finished product

Aerial view

4 Months

I've said before that the first couple months of Q's life dragged by but the last couple months have really flown by!  I can't believe she is already 4 months old.  When Y was an infant I found myself rushing time, mostly because I wanted to see her at the next stage or milestone.  This time around I'm much more relaxed and just patiently taking things as they come.

I've been extremely fortunate to have had two really "good" babies for the most part.  Q, much like Y was, is happy the majority of the time.  She loves to laugh and play, she is just a good-natured baby.  She has started blowing little spit bubbles and making all sorts of noises.  She smiles and interacts a little more with her big sister. 

I've been waiting to write this post until she goes in for her 4 month well baby visit but it's not until Wednesday and so I just caved and decided to go ahead and post it (I'll post another with her stats later in the week).  I've already taken her in to have her shots - which we have done at the health department because our insurance doesn't cover any preventative care (weird, I know) and the health dept. is always cheaper than having her pediatrician's office do it.  She took those 2 needles like a champ, only crying for a short moment at the end of the second shot.  So far, with both girls, they've never been fussy after having their shots - they sleep it off instead!

She may be starting solids this month, but it's something I intend to discuss with her doctor first.  She still has reflux and so I'm wondering if maybe we should hold off on solids until she is 6 months.  I'm not sure how she'll take to it anyway, she doesn't seem to want much in her mouth that isn't human skin - either mine or hers.  When I have her seated on my lap she will use her hand to pull my hand up to her mouth so that she can suck on my hand.  It can be quite funny to watch since 4 month olds still have fairly limited motor skills.  I've started to notice that when there is something she wants she will attempt to move towards it, I don't mean she's crawling or anything of the sort, rather that she will lean towards it or try to sit up or straighten her body to get closer to the object.  I am truly fascinated by all of the changes that she going through, every baby does it but I really feel like this time around I'm noticing so much more.  But maybe that has everything to do with what I said earlier about not rushing through each stage.

Here are some pictures which I took on Thursday, when she actually turned 4 months old.

Smarty Pants

Y never ceases to amaze us with just how bright she is.  She seems to remember absolutely everything and she really just seems to have a natural knack for learning and grasping new concepts.

Here lately she has started to really begin to love the different letters of the alphabet and spelling them out as she sees them.  It started one Saturday when I was dressing Q for our family photos.  I had just taken the tag off of Q's Shirt - it was from The Children's Place.  If you've never seen a TCP price tag it's just a white rectangle piece of cardstock with the price on one side and "place" written in all caps on the other side.  Well Y picks up the tag and very nonchalantly says, "P-L-A-C- Mommy what's that one?"  I told her it was an "E"  and then she started again, "P-L-A-C-E." 

It completely surprised me.  I mean she's been reciting her alphabet for longer than I can remember it seems and I knew that she even recognized many of them - she has the alphabet magnets and would pick out certain letters but never before had she ever spelled anything out to either of us.  It both amazed and excited me!

Since then it seems as if she has taken more of an interest in spelling things, while talking to B's parents on Skype she will have me spell out the names of people she knows and she will search for and press each letter until the person's name is typed out completely on the screen. Or if we're out and about she will spell out the word(s) she sees.

I guess this is pretty typical for children who happen to be the first child but it's completely new and exciting to me!  Now I want to start working with her to teach her to recognize the sounds of each letter in hopes that maybe she'll start kindergarten knowing how to read instead of learning how to read in kindergarten.

No pressure though - as far as I can tell she's already ahead of the game!

The "X" Factor

I should start by saying that this post has absolutely nothing to do with the show, The X Factor, it is instead a record of just how powerful an "X" can be.

Y has always been a snugly person.  She was a baby that was pretty much held constantly and loved to be snuggled.  Each morning I'd bring her into bed with me and we would snuggle and sleep sometimes until 10 or 11am.  She has always loved being snuggled up next to mommy or daddy but she loved it even more when it was both!

As she has gotten older and bigger it has become more and more uncomfortable to have her in our bed.  Before getting pregnant with Q and even during the early months of pregnancy I'd simply take her back to her room whenever she'd come climbing into bed with us.  But then she smartened up, she'd walk over to B's side of the bed (he was least likely to notice and definitely least likely to react) and sleep with her head at the foot of the bed instead of snuggled tightly between us at the head of the bed.  I would wake in the morning surprised both that she was in our bed and that I hadn't known she was in our bed.  This worked to her advantage for a while, until my bladder started getting the best of me and I'd wake several times each night.  But by that point I was far too big to be able to pick her up anymore and so I'd leave her there, allowing her to sleep in our bed.

After Q was born, Y would wake up every time Q cried (the downfall of them sharing a room) and since we had issues with the latch and reflux, that was quite often.  I relented and decided that the only way Y was going to get any sleep was to allow her to go sleep in our bed whenever she woke up.  I did it mostly because since I wasn't getting much sleep myself the last thing I wanted was a toddler running around with little or no sleep!

But finally, Q was better at sleeping and waking up far less so I decided it was time to get Y to sleep in her bed again.  I tried taking her back to her bed when she came to ours but I'd always find her back in our bed again when I woke in the morning.  We checked out a book about a little boy who wouldn't sleep in his own bed and what his dad finally did to get him to stay in his own room, she failed to realize the connection.  And then one day she said she wanted to put stickers on her "potty training chart," even though she hasn't had a potty chart for well over 6 months...but it got the wheels in my head turning.

She had loved putting the stickers on her potty chart each time she went potty.  So I told her that we would make her a sleep training chart and that each morning if she went to sleep all on her own and stayed in her bed the entire night (she's not allowed in our bed until it's light outside) then she would get to put a sticker on the chart and she'd get a treat in the morning.  It was a Sunday night that we started it and she was so excited about her chart.  I printed it up and hung it on the wall in the kitchen just like we had done her potty chart but that night and the next two nights she still ended up in my bed before morning. 

So finally on Wednesday I looked at the still blank chart and decided we needed a way to mark her progress and so I placed an X on the previous 3 days representing Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night.  Well I was amazed at just how upset she got with the sight of those 3 X's on her chart.  She did not like them at all!!!  And so when Wednesday night came and it was time for her to go to bed she came to hug me and said, "Mommy I'm gonna sleep in my bed all night so that I can get a sticker and a treat tomorrow, and NO X!"  I of course was quite skeptical but I hugged her and said that she was a big girl and told her that I knew she could to it.

She woke up that night around 11pm, after B was already in bed asleep, and she headed towards our door.  I was doing some knitting and so I looked at her and said, "remember, if you sleep in our bed you get an X."  She stood by our door and pondered it a while before walking over to me and climbing in my lap.  I snuggled her a while and then took her back to her room where she climbed in her bed and promptly went back to sleep. 

At 1am I was woken up to her screaming, "Daddy, Daddy" over and over again (when I asked B about it the next day he had no recollection of even hearing her - must be nice). I went in and told her that Daddy was already asleep and that he wouldn't be coming in with her but of course her screaming had already woken Q up and made her realize it had been a while since she had eaten!  While I nursed Q she went back to sleep and I didn't hear another peep out of her until 7:30am when she comes bouncing in our room so proud that she had slept through the night in her own bed.  I, of course, made a big deal out of it as did B when he came home from work. 

I was truly amazed that she had done it and she did it not because she got to put a sticker on the chart or even because she knew she'd get a piece of candy - she did it all because she didn't want an X on her chart!  It's amazing how the child's mind can work.  And here we are nearly 3 weeks later and aside from those original 3 X's she only has 2 more X's on that chart!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is typically a pretty quiet holiday at our place, and this year was no exception.  B's parents come each year and this year we also invited the missionaries over.  I cooked all the food - from scratch - but had a bit of help from my Mother-in-Law which was definitely appreciated during those times when I had to go and nurse Q.  This year I was a bit ahead of the game though because I started all the prep work for the meal on Tuesday.  If you're curious about the menu, it was:  Turkey (as usual, but I did try a new marinade this year which was a HUGE hit), mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and homemade macaroni and cheese.  For dessert we had apple crisp and cherry pie (made completely from scratch, no store bought pie filling!  I'm very proud of this fact if you can't tell) both served with vanilla ice cream.  Dinner was great...dessert was even better!

Here are some photos Nana B. took while I was hard at work in the kitchen!

We headed out to go do our Black Friday shopping at 9:45pm - Walmart opened at 10pm - and Walmart is definitely one store I will be skipping in the future, at least until later in the day.  I've been to Walmart on Black Friday before but this was the first year I was there when the sales first started.  Let's just say it was an experience that I don't care to repeat again...and I did it all for a Bissell 3-in-1 Stick Vac!  After Walmart we headed to Kohl's and waiting outside for 15 minutes until the store opened at midnight.  This was the first time Nana B went with us on Black Friday so we left the girls home with Grandpa P.  While in Kohl's our strategy was to have B wait in line while Nana B. and I did all the shopping and periodically dropped things off to him...it worked and we were out of there in just over 2 hours.  Our next stop, JCPenney wasn't going to open until 3:30am so we had just over an hour to spare so we headed back home so I could nurse Q which would hopefully hold her over until we were done.  Our timing couldn't have been more perfect because she was awake sitting on the couch with Grandpa P. when we walked through the door.  She was sitting there quite peacefully with him and he said she's only woken up about 10 minutes prior to us arriving home.  I nursed her and we chatted for a bit before heading out again.  We finished up at JCPenney and were home by 5:45am.  I was in bed by 6am and almost as soon as I laid down Q woke up but I was so tired by that point I just nursed her in our bed while I slept.  But by 8am she was bright eyed and bushy tailed and that was the end of my sleep.  It was crazy and it was exhausting but all of our Christmas shopping is done!

2011 Family Photos

Back in September we bought a Groupon for a photo session at JCPenney Portrait Studios.  Today is the day we went to have the pictures taken, and here are the results:

The three poses we ordered:

And here is a collage with all the poses we took:



It's Happening...

Before we started trying to get pregnant, during my entire pregnancy and even after Q was born I spent a lot of time worrying about how Y would react to and treat Q.  When we first brought Q home Y tottered between being overly affectionate towards Q and being pretty mean to her - pulling her hair, hitting her, pretty much anything that she knew would make Q cry.  But more recently she's really started to show much more affection towards her baby sister, and this is more of a gentle affection!

Each morning while I prepare breakfast for Y and myself I put Q in her swing.  Well while I am making breakfast Y has started pulling up her rocking chair in front of the swing and "reading" to Q based on the pictures in the book.  Here she is reading her Thumbelina and I'm not sure how obvious it is in this photo but they are both smiling.

These are the moments when I love my job the most!