November 23, 2014

 Lily started the week still sick.  She seemed to improve but was wiped out after a day at school Monday.  She came home and fell asleep and didn't wake up until late in the afternoon.  So I treated Annie to a beauty day.  We trimmed her bangs and did a facial.  She wanted to wrap the towel around her hair and body "just like Mommy does". Then I trimmed and filed all her nails and painted her fingers and toes with her favorite bright orange nail polish.  She loved the special attention while Lily and Tommy were napping.

 I've been meaning to do this project for a long time.  Grammy gave us some framed pictures of flowers that I used to have hanging in the living room of our Meridian house.  I opened up the frames and took out the flower pictures and replaced them with pictures of the kids.  Then I hung them with one of my favorite framed scriptures.  I love walking past these pictures.  It makes me happy to finally have them up.

 Late Monday, Lily was all better and finally ready to eat, drink, and start playing again.  After a good snack, she wanted to go for a walk in the snow.  We all bundled up and joined her for some fresh air before the sun went down.  Tommy kept trudging through the deepest snow he could find.  Annie spun and twirled all the way down the street.  It felt so good to breathe in the fresh cool air and see the sparkling snow.

 For Family Home Evening we made turkey handprint cards to send to our grandparents and favorite missionaries.  Hopefully they made it to you before your travels started!

 Annie is still doing great with dance class.  She looks forward to it every week.  I think her routine is a little too easy for her but she still loves her teacher and the other girls.

Brady and Madison's wedding invitations arrived this week.  We are so excited for them to begin their life together!  The invitations were really cool too.

 Puna sent Tommy some snow boots!  He loves them.  We take little walks every day in the snow.  He loves to crunch the snow under his stomping feet.  They almost come up to his knees.  He can't get up and down stairs with them because he doesn't have enough range of motion in his legs.  It makes him very frustrated.  But most of the time, he is happy to have boots just like his big sisters.

 Tommy's language is still slow in coming.  He isn't saying much at all.  I've been trying more active ways to help him discover sounds since he can't hold still or focus on anything for more than 30 seconds.  We played with this little farm animal block puzzle for nearly an hour one day.  We talked about all the animals names and the sounds they make - and Tommy was getting really good at putting the puzzle together.  Annie decided to join us in the fun.  She put together two big puzzles on her own while Tommy and I played.  I love Annie's bed head!

 We've been going to story time at the library once or twice a week since the weather cooled off.  This past week, we got to sing songs with jingle bells.  Tommy loved the bells.  He wouldn't stop moving - hence the super blurry pictures!  He was dancing and laughing the whole time.  I think Santa needs to bring Bubba a little set of bells this year.

 I made Annie and Tommy a green smoothie for breakfast one morning.  Tommy wouldn't drink it out of the glass so I tried putting it in a bowl.  He needed two spoons to eat it, but he ate every last bit of it.  Annie drank all of hers too.  That's a first!  Unfortunately Tommy got smoothie all over his shirt, pants, blanket, high chair, and floor.  Maybe he didn't eat as much as I thought.

Thursday night we went to BYU Idaho for their annual employee bookstore sale.  We waited in line for a LONG time to see Santa.  The girls were so excited to talk to him.  Tommy.........not so much.  We bought a couple of things and then waited for our photo with Santa to be printed.  By them time we were done, the kids were exhausted.  We knew they wouldn't make it home for dinner, so we went to the campus food court.  Annie was amazing.  A total trooper and happy girl.  Lily and Tommy were so tired, they just laid down on the floor while we waited for our dinner. 

 Friday was my favorite day of this week.  Lily's class had a Thanksgiving party for the kids and parents.  They put on a little program for us.  Each child told us one thing they were thankful for - in Spanish.  Lily was thankful for Uncle Brady and Aunt Madison.  Then they sang us 10 Little Indians in Spanish.  The big finish was a Turkey Tango.  Lily danced with her buddy Brigham.  She had a paper rose in her mouth.  Brigham even picked he up three or four times and dipped her twice during the song.  I got a short video but I can't get it to load to the blog.  It was hilarious.  Then we all had a small Thanksgiving feast.  I brought mashed potatoes.  A little boy in Lily's class asked me what the secret ingredient was in my potatoes.  He said they were they best.  I told him I added a little ranch dressing.  He said I was the coolest.  Tommy was oblivious to everything that happened that day.  He just played with the dominoes the whole hour.

And here's our proof of how much Tommy didn't like Santa.  He screamed so loud everyone in the store turned to see what was wrong.  Poor Santa!  Poor Tommy.  Hopefully by next year, Tommy will feel a little braver so he can tell Santa what he wants for Christmas.

November 16, 2014

The week started out great.  Lily got a fun homework assignment from school to disguise a turkey so he won't be eaten for Thanksgiving.  At first she wanted to dress her turkey like a doctor, then a ninja, then a ballerina.  But when we sat down to work on it, she spotted some snowflake stickers and decided on a turkey snowman.  She worked hard coloring the turkey and cutting out all the shapes we needed for the disguise.  Annie was excited to help with the snow cotton balls and the sparkle stickers.

It turned out great.  Lily was so proud of it and couldn't wait to turn it in at school.  She also was issued a challenge from her school to read at least 10 minutes each day for the month of November.  Every time she reads, we track it on a chart.  She can earn a free personal pizza from a local pizza parlor if she reads every day.  Lily is highly motivated by incentives.  She has been taking the reading challenge very seriously.

She is starting to recognize some words and sound out others.  It is a slow process, but she is enjoying it.  Ten Apples Up On Top is her favorite book right now.  She knows most of the words in the story and thinks it is a funny story too.

For family night this week, Lily wanted to be in charge of the game and the treat.  We played a few rounds of our new family favorite "Zingo" (thanks Grammy)!  And we had a "tea party" of cocoa and cookies served on my little tea set.

Tommy is wearing his little ball cap all the time.  I caught him in our bathroom the other night with his hat on backwards.  So cute!  And the cooler weather has made us want to snuggle up in the mornings under Bubba's big fleece blanket.  Who could resist snuggling with a face like that?

Wednesday night Lily was hit with a stomach bug.  She was throwing up every two to three hours for the next eighteen hours.  After that she had nausea, fever, and chills and was refusing to eat or drink anything.

The "barf bowl" was her best friend.  She wouldn't go anywhere without it.  We also got hit with icy snow.  So from Wednesday to Saturday we were stuck at home nursing Lily back to health and avoiding the dangerous roads.  The weather worked in our favor.  Due to the cold, school was cancelled so Lily only ended up missing one day of school instead of three.

Annie had some fun with our "back up barf bowl".  She liked wearing it as a helmet and crashing into things.  The house was a constant mess and all of us got a little bit of cabin fever as the days wore on.  Lily especially was having a hard time being sick.  She was in pain and bored and so exhausted.  She didn't want to eat or drink because everything hurt her tummy.  I realized while she was sick what a tremendous role she fills in our family unit.  Annie and Tommy were a little lost without their big sister to play with.  We were all very worried about her.

The illness made Lily sensitive to loud noises.  So it was a challenge keeping two other rambunctious kiddos entertained and away from their sick sister without the option of going outside.  We did a lot of puzzles and board games and building with blocks.  We watched some of their favorite movies and cooked in the kitchen together.  All the while I was washing everyone's hands constantly and watching carefully for signs that one of us might be getting sick.  Luckily no one else seems to have the tummy bug.

Saturday morning, the weather had warmed up a bit and Lily was feeling good.  The kids put on their snow gear and played with their friend Preston for a while.  Later in the afternoon, we made a short trip to the library and walked outside on Main Street to get some sunshine and fresh air.

Unfortunately the outing took a toll on Lily.  She had bad stomach cramps the rest of the night and was sick again Saturday night.  Lily and Daddy stayed home from church today.  By the time the rest of us came home, Lily looked much better.  We think she's finally kicking the bug - after nearly five days.

One afternoon as Lily was resting in bed, Mommy came in to check on her.  Lily looked deep in thought and was watching the snow falling outside.  I asked her what she was thinking about.  She said, "I was just thinking about Jesus and how he made this beautiful world for all of us.  He loved us and served us and died for all of us.  I'm glad we celebrate his birthday at Christmas because that is a happy time and Jesus makes me feel happy."  Sweet little thing!  Even in the midst of her sickness, she was still grateful for the Savior and wanted to think about Him.  That was my favorite moment all week.

And the cutest moment was when Annie came in from the snow Saturday morning - bright eyed and red cheeked and so full of love for the snow.  She eats it by the handful.  Reminds me of her Papa every time I see her do it.  Also, Annie has some big news to share.....she is completely diaper free.  She's been potty trained for over a year now but still needed diapers at night.  Last Sunday night she asked to have no diapers for bed.  She stayed dry all night so we let her try again Monday.  She kept it up all week.  Congratulations Annie.  No more diapers for you!