How old are you!?

Today is a very special day at our house. Very special. Today is the day Holl-e-wood decided to make her appearance into the world. The world hasn't been the same since. In honor of her birthday, Holynd got to eat her toast on the couch, while playing with her sticker book. She also got to stick stickers in her hair and all over the furniture (and Sloanie). Later on today, Holynd will get to lunch with her dad and then she'll shop for her first big-girl bed.

Holynd is now two. She turned the world upside-down the minute she was born. Her outgoing personality can be seen and heard from miles away.

She loves: her grandparents, her sister, her kuncles, her aunts, coke (which is really sprite that we just tell her is coke), stickers, Yo Gabba Gabba, counting, singing, dancing, coloring on everything, saying prayers, going to nursery, talking A LOT, being the center of attention, showing off, going shopping, wearing shoes, getting dressed up, going to lunch, visiting her dad at work, rice, fries, apple juice, hair bows, throwing tantrums while grocery shopping, Buzz Lightyear, princesses, purses, tomatoes, grapes and much more. She's sweet, loud, a little obnoxious, smart and very loving.

She is my little college-baby. She went to college through my entire pregnancy and then watched me do homework everyday until her first birthday. She still gets upset every time I get my laptop out.

She also needs a haircut.

Just a Few....

WOW! Can you believe how fast the Christmas season is going by?! I'm loving every minute of it, especially since Holynd and Sloane are so much fun. Here are just a few things we've been up to.


Holynd loves "BUCKS!" she calls them. Money. She likes to dance around yelling, "Mine bucks!" I can't tell you how happy I am to just listen to her and her growing vocabulary. Another few of her favorite phrases, "Going to Walmart!", "Santa's home?", "Ugly bum!", "Ew! Nasty!", "Com'on in Kadee!", "Come in and eat Daddy!", "Go Jazz!", etc. etc. She can also count to 8... sort of-it usually goes something like this, "1,2,1,2,1,2,3,3,3,3,4,5,5,6,5,6,5,6,7,8,7,8,7,8.....so on and so on. She also loves to tell you, "Ready? Ready? Ready? Set! Go!!!!!" and then races you until she decides it's time to start the race over, "Ready? Ready? Set! Go!!!" She always wins too.


Matt and I were also lucky enough to go here and watch the Utes win against BYU. :)



Holynd has always loved Sloane, but recently, Sloane has really started to love Holynd back. Sloane is always constantly looking for her sister. She wants to be able to follow Holynd around so bad! It's only a matter of time before Holynd will have a constant companion. I'm not sure how long Holynd will enjoy it, but we'll see.


One of the things Sloanie has been up to is discovering her love for the University of Utah.

Oh! We did decorate our tree. This was before it was finished. We decided to add purple to our tree this year. Matt says that purple isn't a Christmas color, but that didn't stop us! Out with tradition we say! Out!

Hello again little Sloanie! You are so cute in your little walker. This is Sloane's only way of being able to follow her sister around.

I'm getting sad to think that, in a few days, I'll have to introduce Sloane to "solid" food. :( We will begin to cut away at the nursing ties. I think Sloane will put up a fight, but secretly, I don't really care too much. She's my little balonie and I want her to stay small forever. It will be kinda nice to be able to get back to the temple, since Sloanie can't go more then a couple of hours without her mommy. It'll also be nice to go out with Matt and not have to watch the clock. I'll probably secretly cry when she does start to like food. I'll bawl when she's ready to ween.

We're almost done Christmas shopping. My girls are actually pretty decent shoppers. They like to ride in "The Snot" and go to the mall, especially when we're shopping for them! I can't wait for Christmas morning!

Sloane vs. Shopping Cart

(Caution: You heart may melt while looking at photo.)

I've gotten pretty used to getting two kids in and out of the car. It's no longer a huge ordeal like it was when Sloane first came home. Even though we don't have a garage or anything and we have to walk up and down two flights of stairs to get to and from our door, I hardly think about it anymore. However, yesterday, one of my worst nightmares came true.

The girls and I ventured to Target for a small shopping trip. Just something to get us out of the house and break-up the day a little. We found some fun deals and had a good time. When we walked out of the store, the weather had turned kind of yucky. It was really cold and the wind had kicked up. I walked quickly to the Scion and took Holynd out of the cart, leaving little Sloanie snuggled up in her carseat, riding on the "passenger" part of the cart. Holynd was content playing with her new fake food she got at Target while I was buckling her in her carseat.

All the sudden, Holynd's face turned grey... Her eyes got really wide and she looked at me and said, "Mommy! Uh-oh! Sloanie gone!". I looked over at the spot where I had left my cart. It was vacant.

My eyes immediately lept over to the image of my 5 month old baby riding on a run away cart. The wind had caught the cart perfectly sending my baby across the parking lot at a steady 45 miles per hour. (Ok, maybe not that fast. But to me it seemed that way!) I took off running as fast as my boots could carry me. (Saying many swear words as I ran. Like, that would help anything!) I caught her right after she slammed into another car.

I expected tears and terrified sobbing, but my stone-faced, even-tempered Sloanie looked up at me with the same content face she has 90% of the time.... She gave me a small grin as if to say, "I knew you'd come for me mom. I wasn't worried". I took a deep-breath, tripled checked for any damage to the car (None, thank goodness!) and carefully put my baby into the car. Holynd, who watched the whole thing from her carseat was more upset then Sloanie!

I got into the car and sat there... What do I do now? Do I wait for this car owner to tell them what happened?! They don't teach you this stuff in driver's ed! So, I did the best thing I could think of at that moment. I called my husband, who proceeded to laugh hysterically at the entire story and told me to calm down and go home.

This experience may completely change the way I put kids in the car for the rest of my life.

Cycles...

In the life of a mother, there are many never-ending cycles. Laundry for instance, is one of those cycles. I've learned to cope with situations like your husband bringing you a shirt that he needs washed right after you've already started the last load of colors. In these situations, I try to do my best to just smile and go on with life, usually by taking the shirt and shoving it into the washing machine while it's going. (Same with dishes, it always seems like I find one forgotten dish right after I start the dishwasher... Just open the dang thing and throw the dish in mid-wash. IT'S FINE!)



Babies grow so fast that it seems like as soon as I learn to cope with one of their current challenges (drinking all the tub water during baths, wiping poop all over their cribs during naptime, puking as soon as their dressed...) another challenge creeps up. The never-ending child-challenge-cycle, so to speak.



One of my latest challenges is the "portable microwave". Remember the kitchen Holynd was given a few weeks ago??? Well, for some reason, she thinks it's awesome to take the microwave off the top and carry it around the house. Normally I wouldn't mind... but she can't get the thing back on! And, she insists on throwing a tiny fit everytime she fails on snapping the microwave back on the kitchen.

I really don't mind fixing it for her, but she always seems to want it on while I'm in the middle of changing, feeding or bathing little Sloanie. So, I've been asking myself, coincidence or cry for attention? I'm going to go with the third option: MAKE HUSBAND SCREW THE MICROWAVE TO THE KITCHEN SO IT DOESN'T COME OFF AT ALL.

Sometimes in motherhood, we give ourselves our own challenges. I had been on the hunt for alphabet letters for my fridge. Holynd loves stickers and I thought this would be an easy way to keep a "sticker-like" object on hand. Sunday morning, Holynd awoke to find the magnets stuck all over the fridge. She then proceeded to throw them all over the floor and at her dad... Awesome. Matt came into the bedroom where, I was still trying to get myself out of bed.

Matt: Holynd likes the alphabet letters.

Me: She does?!

Matt: Yeah, she's been throwing them at me. They're everywhere.

Me: So what are you saying?

Matt: I'm saying you probably just bought yourself a $2.00 headache.

Me: Awesome...

Sometimes the child fixes the problem for you by just eliminating the object of annoyance all together... Here on my hopechest sits a candleholder that my mom gave me at my bridal shower. Holynd is obsessed with the red candles that usually occupy the little glass holders. I've picked up these candles THOUSANDS of times. Being the stubborn person that I am, I was determined to keep my candleholder where I wanted it. Well, Holynd finally decided I needed some help getting over the candle issue. The other day, Matt and I settled down in our bed for the night. I rolled over to see a candleholder, vacant of it's little red candles.

Me: Matt, where are my candles?

Matt: No idea.

Me: Oh well, they'll turn up.

Never did.

:)

I do, however, believe that some challenges just deserve some good 'ole childproofing.

Dearest Husband,

While you secure the microwave to the kitchen, could you give some thought to childproofing the bowl cupboard and the doorknob for me?? (Maybe also the oven and fridge, just to be on the safe side?)

Lots of love,

Wife.

Mr Clean, Thank you for existing.

We've been trying to come up with fun things to do now that the weather is cold. One of Holynd's favorite things to do is color, but coloring in a tiny coloring book gets old really fast! Sometimes coloring is a lot more fun when you can color on the wall.



Holynd spent a good hour coloring on the "wall". I'm pretty sure I'll have to wait for bedtime to come around before I can take this down.


Since little hands have a hard time staying on the "wall" paper, I'm making sure that this Thanksgiving I give thanks for Mr Clean and his magic erasers. I'm also thankful for my husband who makes sure to have extra paint handy just in case some things can't be cleaned off.

I've been reading more lately now that we can't venture outside as much. My dad gave me a book to read which I've really been enjoying, "Broken Things to Mend" by Jeffrey R. Holland. I wanted to quote a few passages that I need to remember. Maybe it will give someone the lift they need today, or maybe it will be something I need to have record of for the future.

"The first words Jesus spoke in His majestic Sermon on the Mount were to the troubled, the discouraged and downhearted. 'Blessed are the poor in spirit... for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). Many people are facing personal trials and family struggles, enduring conflicts fought in the lonely foxholes of the heart, trying to hold back floodwaters of despair that sometimes wash over us like a tsunami of the soul.... To all such I offer the surest and sweetest remedy that I know. It is found in clarison call the Savior of the world Himself gave. He said it in the beginning of His ministry, and He said it in the end. He said it to believers, and He said it to those who were not so sure. He said to everyone, whatever their personal problems might be: 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls' (Matthew 11:28-29)."

"In speaking of mothers generally, I especially wish to praise and encourage young mothers. The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. The young years are often those when either husband or wife -or both- may still be in school or in those earliest and leanest stages of developing the husband's breadwinning capacities. Finances fluctuate daily between low and nonexistent.... Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other times in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island... Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones. "

Happy fall everyone! It seems to be coming to a close. We are starting to see signs of winter almost everyday now.