Happy Holidays

I keep putting off blogging because we're still in Utah and I don't have access to all my pictures and that puts me off kilter and out of order. I want to write about Christmas and being here, but I don't know where to start.

So, Christmas was great! Both girls slept in until 8:45 out of exhaustion from fun family parties for a few nights prior. We were all just kind of standing around waiting for them and then we just shrugged and went off to shower while we continued waiting. Christmas win #1 - even though my hair was wet, I was dressed and looked much more together in jeans and a shirt than I would have in my paisley pajamas.

We really haven't talked Santa up to Willa that much. This first child thing is kind of hard that way for me. She never knew to ask for presents and it wasn't until Christmas Eve (after watching the stop motion Rudoloph to introduce her to the idea of reindeer and sleighs and the misfit toys) that I explained to her about setting out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for Rudolph.

When Willa woke up, we thought she would have forgotten about everything and that we could eat breakfast before heading into the living room. The first words out of her mouth were asking if Santa ate the cookies, though, so that was Christmas win #2. We went straight into the living room to discover and play with the Santa toys. Then we had breakfast and headed back in to open presents.

Christmas win #3 - the look when Willa unwrapped this giant Costco princess art set. There was a sharp intake of breath and she could just not believe what she was looking at. This was followed by lots of whining to open the art set during the rest of the present unwrapping.

Christmas win #4 - we didn't get June any presents, but some of her aunts and uncles did. Mostly she played with wrapping paper and I pulled wet pieces of it out of her mouth the entire morning. BUT. But, there was one glorious moment when I unwrapped her present from Adam and Amanda. It was a Minnie Mouse and she literally squealed and started laughing. I kept tickling her with it and she kept squealing and laughing. It was about the most adorable thing ever.

Christmas win #5 - This actually happened the day after Christmas. One of Willa's Santa presents was a little tent to play in. The day after Christmas she wanted to play with it, so we went into the living room. She stood by the little opening and said, "Welcome to my castle, that Santa gave me," and then she gave a little bow. I did a double take. It was so hilarious. I've been wracking my brains to figure out where she learned that. I think it must have come from an episode of Daniel Tiger when he goes fruit picking at the castle and meets King Friday (obviously, I have all these episodes memorized). I seem to talk a lot about the t.v. that we watch. Really, we don't watch that much. Okay, some days we do, but other days we hardly watch any. If someone has a better idea about how to entertain a toddler on Sunday with 1:30 pm church when a nap is missed, you're welcome to write it in the comments :).

Finally, the pictures. Knoles Family Christmas Nativity on the 20th. Starring June Daniels (youngest baby present) as the Reason for the Season. June stole the show by sitting up in the manager and sucking on her pacifier like Maggie Simpson. Various cousins in mangering and wising garb.

Photo from Hogle Zoo yesterday. Love the zoo, but hate the crowds? Might I recommend going when it's 20 degrees outside? We nearly had the place to ourselves. You can see by the unflattering photo of everyone but Ryan, that it was chilly. June was a little snow queen in her cream snowsuit. Despite a grumpy beginning (photo obviously taken at the beginning), Willa ended up having a blast and when she got in the car she kept saying, "Mommy/Daddy, thanks for a great day." That was a sweet and adorable phrase to end the trip and helped me be a little more patient when she immediately started whining for a snack after. The cherry on top? Both girls stayed awake in the car and then crashed for long naps when we got home. Saweet!

Ryan drove back to Las Vegas this morning to get back to everything. I'm staying an extra week for Dr. Alyson's bridal shower that my mom is throwing. That's right! My favorite pediatrician, Hot Lips, MD is getting married. We are so happy for her and I'm so excited to be in town to help with shower.

June 9 Months!

I'd say that this darling girl is overdue for a nine month update. Also, probably better to have a new post on top of that last rather icky one.

I mean, could this baby be any cuter? I posted one of these on FB already, but they were just all so cute, I needed to put them on the blog for forever.

June could not be any cuter, but she could definitely be a little sweeter. She is so sweet to me, but she has developed a real antipathy towards being held by Ryan most of the time. She'll go in spurts when it's okay, but lately it seems she is getting worse. Or, maybe her temper is just increasing? Her screams are shrill and you can tell very much that she is ANGRY, not sad, tired, sick, etc. She's mad, MAD! So even though I love all the sweet little cuddles she gives me and how she lays her head on my shoulder and sighs and murmurs with contentment, sometimes I wish she could share a little love with her daddy. At first I thought maybe it was just all strangers, but then she has gravitated towards and allowed herself to be held by some women at church, Rebecca, and a few others. Ryan and I wonder if she's just starting to dislike men! The women she allows to hold her all have dark brown hair too, so I wonder if that is comforting to her because it looks more like me. I don't know, all I know is that she is so adorable, but a real stinker-pants sometimes.

June also gets very MAD in the middle of the night if she doesn't get picked up when she wants to. We go through good spurts of 1-2 weeks of solid 10-12 hour sleep at night. Then she'll get sick or something and she gets off. Then we have to start the sleep training all over. Ear plugs are my new best friend because most of the time she will go back to sleep for several more hours. Call me a bad mother.

She still very much loves Willa and has lots of laughs and smiles for her. They are starting to get along a little better now and it's very cute. Most of the time, though, when she smiles at Willa, Willa responds by grunting and yelling, "That makes me so ANGRY!!!" I'm so glad that Daniel Tiger has given her the appropriate words to express her feelings :).

Lastly, June very much wants to crawl, but not enough to actually do it. She'll get up on all fours for quite a while and eventually cry because she's not quite sure how to make it happen. If she put as much effort into crawling as she does into flipping over when I lay her on the changing table, then we'd be in real trouble.

Here's a little video Ryan took when he was getting her out of bed. A rare moment of smile for him, probably because he thought she had just woken up so he went in to get her, but really I had just laid her down. Stinker, got out of that last nap!

Rota wha?

Warning: disgusting bodily functions featured in this post!

I keep meaning to post about June since she is now a big nine month old! However, we've all been taken down by various illnesses.

On Sunday, Ryan woke up not feeling well. He wanted to stay home from church except that we were speaking. He went home right after Sacrament meeting and was looking pretty bad by the time I got home later. On Monday he went to Instacare and got diagnosed with strep. We were pretty sure that was what it was, but the doctor didn't even have to do the lab. He just smelled his breath :)!

Meanwhile, June's poop has been getting runnier and runnier and so I think she's got some sort of rotavirus right now, that she may or may not have passed on to me. It feels kind of like the stomach flu except out the other end. Actually, poor June's has been coming out both ends. She had two baths this morning before 8:00 am. When she woke up she was covered in poop (so sad, she even has a diaper rash all up her tummy from laying in it) and then she vomited all over me and her fresh clean clothes a little while later. Luckily the vomiting has only happened twice and she's a little more cuddly than normal but not horribly sad, so that's good. Solids are out, but breastmilk is in and thankfully she will still nurse a lot.

To top it all off, Willa has a nasty snot nose and until today, hadn't pooped in eight days. What are the odds? One can't keep it in and one can't let it out. After prune juice and lots of apple juice, we resorted to a suppository this afternoon. Usually, those work within minutes with her, but this one took over an hour - that's how bad she was. There were a lot of tears and grabbing of the tummy until she finally worked it out. I think potty training has thrown her bowels for a loop and she hasn't quite figured it out yet so she just holds it, fabulous.

I've been doing laundry like a mad woman and spraying lysol everywhere. Here's to hoping that we don't catch what the other one's got!

Christmas Stockings

Growing up, everyone in my family and extended family had a personal felt stocking that my grandma had made for them from a Bucilla stocking kit. I'm a little sentimental and wanted to keep up the tradition because I loved having my own special stocking and have many fond memories of looking at all the stockings at Christmas time. When my grandma died, my mom found one last finished stocking that was waiting for whatever grandchild would next be born. She gave it to me for Willa, so then of course I made a stocking for Ryan and finally for June.

Ryan's was finished just barely in time for last Christmas and I starting looking for June's almost immediately after. It took me the entire year (minus a few months after having June) to finish it. Granted, most of my sewing happened in 30 minute spurts in the evening after the kids were in bed while we were watching t.v. The stocking patterns have gotten more intricate as the years go by, so June's was actually very time consuming, but I think it's so sweet and cute. I'm not really creative at all, so I like just buying the kit and reading the instructions. Now that it's finished, my hands feel itchy to do something again. It feels strange to sit down in the evening without it. Maybe I'll take up knitting? I need something that requires a medium amount of concentration so that I can still watch my stories in the evening when the kids are in bed.

Thanksgiving and more

So much keeps happening, it's hard to keep everyone updated. We had such a nice Thanksgiving, it was so amazing to us to see so many friend and family in such a short time. The weekend before Thanksgiving my parents drove down to visit so that my dad could see the house. They left on Monday morning. About three hours later, the Thalmans arrived on our doorstep ready to play all day. On Wednesday, Shannon and the O'Kelley clan arrived from Newport beach. Ryan took Willa over to play for a few hours and returned home just as the Rathers were pulling up. They stayed the night with us en route to California. It was so fun to get to know little Mason better and to meet baby Max and just to spend time with good friends.

Thanksgiving Day and the rest of the week were also so nice. We hung out a lot at Rebecca's house with family and ventured to Circus Circus one morning to ride the rides courtesy of Shannon and Graham. Willa loved cousin Claire and really got spoiled having someone to constantly play with her. It was the best kind of holiday time. We all gathered on Saturday morning for a big breakfast before Shannon and Graham headed back to California and Adam and Amanda went back to Utah. There was just enough time to go home and have the kids nap before Ashley and NH were back again! We spent the afternoon and evening together and then after dinner another USC couple who was in town stopped by, the Sperrys. Then it became a late night with a lot of friends and a lot of tired kids playing in the house but it was so worth it. The Rather's left on Sunday morning and then on Monday we got to see the Thalmans one last time before they flew back to Houston.

Ryan and I tried to savor every minute of being with our loved ones. One of the biggest pushes for us to move back was that we felt our life could be so much richer if we lived nearer to family. At least near enough that it was within a reasonable driving distance for an occasional visit instead of a very long and very expensive plane ticket. It's been an answer to prayers and something we really sought for to have this kind of holiday. It was something we could only dream about before and to have it a reality is such a blessing.

We hardly took any pictures of anything, but here are a few I found.

Willa wearing another of my hand-me-downs to church. This one was a Grandma Knoles homemade original.

  

 My mom brought her amazing steamer down and Ryan was busy deep cleaning everything. It was like magic!

 Willa helping my dad make a complete set of outdoor lights. They had two sets that each had missing bulbs, so they had to test each bulb and build one good set. Willa was very helpful and could unscrew the bulbs all by herself!

Reunited and it feels so good

The Thalmans flew in late on Sunday evening. They made it to our house about 11:30 am on Monday and played all day long. It was heaven to have them here with us! I told Kim that if they didn't want to see their grandma the entire trip (with whom they are staying) we could arrange that. They had lunch and dinner at our house and the entire time was just spent with the beautiful sound of little girls playing together and interrupted only by a very fun park trip.

It was so nice to just sit and talk with Kim. I'm still in that stage here where I don't quite know people well enough so the conversation is a little awkward at times. Also, as Kim puts it, it's difficult to find a family where the kids are the same age and get along, where the wives get along, and where the husbands get along. Kim said, "It was just so nice that Ryan and Robert could do things with us and we could all be together." Which was actually the problem with Texas - Ryan wasn't working, but it was sure fun to hang out all the time when Rob was on shore :).

The very best was seeing Willa and Bridgett together. They definitely understood that this was very special to see each other and that they don't live near one another anymore. There was no bickering, just immediate, adorable play. They made gourmet meals with the play kitchen and they must have put their babies to bed in Willa's room about one hundred times. It was so cute to hear them, "Good night babies, sweet dreams babies." Then they would tuck the babies in the bed, start the sound machine, turn off the light, and close the door. They would start creeping down the stairs and then one of them would say, "The baby's awake!" and they would scurry back into the bedroom and the whole process would start again.

It's so fun to see them interacting and playing together instead of just parallel play. We haven't quite gotten to the point with anyone here where that has happened too much yet. (We had a park date last week where eventually Willa and the other little girl started laughing and playing together, which was so great.) I've been on the lookout and need to do better at arranging more playdates and finding some good friends for her. Her little friendship with Bridgett is just so perfect and we are wishing our darndest that they will make it out here permanently.

Unfortunately, the rest of their extended family started filtering in yesterday and for some reason they decided to spend time with them instead of us :). Happily, they will be here through part of next week and we already have plans to go to Red Rock together when Robert gets into town (he's been on a boat).

We missed a few...

I was going through our photos and missed some from our last few days of Houston.

Last playdate with Miss Molly and Maura, we went to the zoo.

Painting at the Children's Museum with Bridgett

Cutest baby in the world on our couch. Hooray, Brandon and Rebecca gifted us their beautiful couch here so we got to leave this lovely floral one of my grandma's in Houston.

One last super, mega playdate with all our friends at a splashpad.

Last summer I bought Willa two swimsuits. One cheap pink one at Target and a very cute, higher quality blue one from Zappos. Which one do you think got used the most? Look at this pink one sag, I'm going to have to throw it away.

Our last night in Houston we went to CeCe's Pizza with the Thalmans. Then they came over to our house to clean out the fridge and anything else we didn't want to take. Bridgett and Willa hugging brought out the tears for Kim and me. Note: there was actually a very good hug on both sides, but it was not well-reenacted for the camera.

The Thalmans are coming to Vegas for Thanksgiving to visit their grandparents. We are so excited to see them!

"If you have to go potty, STOP..."

Who besides Parker F. can finish the rest of the line for me? We have been up to this:

After hemming and hawing for quite a while and noticing that she was getting bigger and bigger and that her friends were all wearing underpants, I decided that it was probably time to bite the bullet. It didn't start out formally, I just decided not to put on a new diaper when she woke up in the morning. The first time she did it was absolutely thrilling for her. I don't think we've ever seen her smiling bigger. She started quoting her potty book and was running around saying, "I'm so proud of me!" and "Woosh, down goes the water!"

We haven't gone cold turkey, and I would say that for most hours of the day she still wears a diaper (especially since she still naps), but we've had a lot of successes when she is not wearing a diaper. My plan is to gradually increase the no diaper time without putting a lot of pressure on her. Sometimes when she's up and I ask to take her diaper off she says, "No, please." I'm fine with that. I want potty-training to be positive for her. I have a feeling that she isn't so great with big changes and this change is a doozy. I was going to go buy treats as rewards, but we tried with the stickers and she thinks it is fabulous for now. We can save the treats if we have to haul in some big guns later.

Miss Junie has some big news too:

See her gnawing at the biscuit? Two little toofies are erupting on the bottom. Such a big girl! She seems a little grumpy by the process but not too bad. She still feels very little interest in crawling. It feels like she's gotten lazier. If I put her on her tummy, she just screams now instead of rolling over. After pulling various and sundry items from her mouth, it's probably better that things stay as they are or else I might have to pull out that old vacuum cleaner more frequently.

Speaking of clean floors. Does anyone else feel like their kitchen is exploding with crumbs? I swear, I sweep a couple of times a day and each time, there is so much crud that comes up. Sometimes I'll get the broom to get just one messy spot where someone (Willa) spilled and then as I'm sweeping, crumbs seem to be appearing at every nook and cranny. It's like someone is shooting off a confetti cannon filled with food crumbs into the kitchen whenever I'm out of the room. Sheesh, not to mention the days when sweeping gets forgotten, then it's just disgusting in there.

Mini Me

Had to quickly post this photo from church yesterday. Willa is wearing one of my old dresses. She looked especially adorable with some white knee-highs and little black flats. She was also really hyper and it was impossible to get her to stand still for the picture. She couldn't stop jumping up and down on the floor. Socks have also sunk down a little, but I still think she's pretty cute.

She has been very hilarious lately. She likes to shout "Super Willa!" and jump up and down. We also read this PD Eastman book from the library The Best Nest and there is a little song the birds sing, "I love my house, I love my nest, of all the nests it is the best." The other day she was running around singing and I could not tell what she was saying at all. Finally I realized she was singing, "I love my house, I love Junie, I love my daddy." It was so cute! At first I thought she was saying, "I left my house," and I started getting worried that she was already scheming to run away.

Last night she was super cranky after church (not unusual) and she complained of a stomachache (not unusual, she often fakes tummy aches to negotiate for more television time). Then, about 10 pm last night she started crying pretty hard. I went in there and she promptly puked profusely over everything a few times. That was unusual and not cute. I felt so bad for her, that is the worst feeling. We got her cleaned up, stripped her bed, watched a show, and then pumped an air mattress up next to her bed. Ryan slept by her for the night to help her feel better. Right now, I am washing everything in sight and chloroxing the place. She hasn't thrown up since that first time, so here's to dry toast and crossing our fingers!

RWD, esq.

Ryan was formally admitted to the State Bar yesterday at a ceremony where he took the oath of attorney. When he passed the Texas bar, we were still in California and Willa was about two weeks old, so he wasn't able to attend the formal ceremony in Texas. Instead, when we got there he ended up having to find a notary or judge to swear him in. After all the three years of law school and the hard work of studying and taking the bar, it was very anticlimactic and disappointing (like most of our time in Texas).

I'm so glad that we were able to celebrate it more in Nevada. For us, it's like doing everything for the first time. Ryan has worked so hard and been so successful at passing two different state bars on the first time taking them. It was nice to have him recognized. The Nevada bar only had a 66% pass rate this time, so I am doubly proud of him.

Waiting for the program to begin.

After picture. We didn't realize that Ryan needed to be about 30 minutes early until it was almost time to leave the house. My plan for dressing the girls very cutely and maybe fluffing my hair was thwarted and we were thankful to throw everything in the car in five minutes, get Willa up from her nap, and be off.

Afterwards, Brandon and Rebecca took us to a nice restaurant to celebrate. Rasslin' a snotty baby and a very patient three year-old was no joke, but the food was delicious and it was fun to go to someplace a little more fancy. I had the brilliant idea to take Willa's portable DVD player before we rushed off the the ceremony. Much Little Einstein was watched and a lot of meltdowns avoided.

I also wanted to post of picture of the venue. The Historic 5th Street School. Very cool because not only was it the first schoolhouse in Las Vegas, but my grandpa went to school there also. Then, when my mom was growing up it was more of a musical arts center. She would go a few times a month to play the piano and then hang out at my Great Great Uncle Otto's house right across the street (now an urban parking lot). It's very fun to have some family history down here!

Thanks so much a helping me

I found Willa's name traced on one of our moving boxes. I vaguely remember writing it and then having her trace it. Must've been trying to distract her with something. I wanted a picture of one of these tracings for posterity. Pretty cute, and I think this was maybe only the third time she had ever done it.

She has been cracking us up these days. She says the funniest things with the cutest intonations. She's started saying, "Thanks a helping me." Or, "Thanks so much a helping me." We must say it a lot. It's most funny when she has actually helped us do something - like helping me make cookies. She loves this particular Minnie Mouse puzzle that she needs help with, so this phrase comes in handy a lot. She also says, "This puzzle is tricky!"

She's really into the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ever since she got the toy that I showed in a previous post. She sings softly along with the opening music and does Mickey's hand actions (if we're not watching). Since a lot of shows these days have the characters ask a question, pause, and then answer the question, she has started doing this too. I use the squirt bottle on her hair every morning. She loves to squirt it so we've had to institute a rule to only squirt outside. As I was doing her hair, I heard her hold the squirt bottle and say, "Should we squirt this inside or outside?... Right, outside."

She's also interested in how brave or patient she can be. It's high praise indeed, and she also likes to discuss past events so that we can talk about how brave she was. She'll often do this when company like Aunt Rebecca is over. I think it's kind of her secret way of bragging in front of them. "Mommy, I go to doctor yesterday. I so brave at doctor. They put baggie on me, I so brave and patient." She uses the word "yesterday" to denote past tense. Makes sense to me.

I've had to suction poor's June's nose out a lot the last few days and one day Willa was watching intently. When I finished she said, "Mommy, June so patient?" It was a rare moment of sympathy and empathy. Mostly, with regards to June we hear Willa say, "Sshh!" Or, "Enough!" Or, "That hurts my ears!" Those may or may not be responses we use towards intense whining or tantrums of a certain three-year-old. I try to explain to her that June doesn't have any words, but it's not cutting it right now. It's especially sad/funny when June is doing happy baby talk so sweetly and Willa keeps saying, "SHhhh!"

8 Months

June is eight months old today. She is suffering from a nasty cold, which is so sad when she tries and then fails to nurse. Thank goodness that solids are going better now! She's been a bit teary-eyed and sad throughout it all, as you might be able to see.

June Loves:
-Eating paper
-Playing with non-toy items
-Willa (especially when Willa deigns to play peekaboo)
-Mommy
-Watching Daddy from Mommy's lap
-Smiling at the pew behind us and everyone else at church
-Eating puffs and yogurt melts
-Being naked
-Rolling and lunging
-Taking a bath

June thinks these are overrated:
-Eating green vegetables
-Playing with actual toys
-Getting her hair washed
-Getting her hair combed and put into an elastic (to keep it out of her eyes and snotty nose)
-Sleeping through the night
-Crawling

June Hates:
-Getting her nose or face wiped
-When a non-toy item is removed from play
-When mommy leaves the room

Come inside, it's fun inside!

My mom got Willa this Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book that also has a little playmat and Disney figures to play with. It has been the most incredible hit toy of all hit toys. Willa wakes up in the morning and naps with the words, "Play with Mickey?" She has even been turning down multiple park trips so that she can play. This morning there was a hot air balloon festival a few blocks away and I had to drag her away from the activity mat crying so that she could drive with Ryan to see the balloons. It's been incredibly awesome to have something totally engross her like this. I love to see the pretend play scenarios she comes up with.

Here she is playing "Road Rally" since there is a Mickey Mouse Road Rally on Netflix. We got her favorite cars and she tries to fit the figures in, by far her most favorite scenario.

 We went to our new ward's trunk-or-treat. It was awesome. Where do they get the resources and the budget? Do people kick in extra? Also, how many wards do you know that stock the buffet table with Coke and Diet Coke? June is an adorable cow (Willa's old costume) and Willa is Lambchops for the second year in a row. I've got about 2-3 inches that I can let out of pants and arms on Lambchops so I'm hoping she'll make a third appearance next year. It's just such an awesome costume and Willa was/is super excited about it this year. I wish someone would have warned me about how awesome a trunk-or-treat is with a three year old. She is excited to get the candy, but hasn't made the connection that the candy is at home, so I get to enjoy most of it by myself. And this ward had good candy...

 We were itching to get out this afternoon, so we decided to go to Red Rock. It's only about 20 minutes from doorstep to this, amazing. We ended up getting an annual pass. It was only $30 and will be well worth all the adventures we plan on having. We felt so rejuvenated being in such a beautiful place and can't believe we live so close to it.

Willa totally freaked me out in this photo. I told her to be careful and go hold Daddy's hand for a picture. She was careful but step to the very edge of this very high rock! Reminded me of some home movies of when I was at harp institute in the summer in St. George. My mom would be with me at classes and my dad would have the three youngest kids in Zion's and there are videos of him just walking nonchalantly around while the very young children run like crazy around very steep precipices.

Home Means Nevada

You can ignore the "Vote Harry Reid"  on the video, but I do love this song. I have been in Las Vegas for just over a week and I love it here. There is such a stark difference between our move to Houston and the move to Las Vegas. It reinforces our feelings that we were not supposed to be in Houston and we are supposed to be here. It's incredible to just be happy and feel glad to be somewhere instead of feeling constant dread in the pit of your stomach and wondering how you can get out and what you're future holds. In Houston, our future just looked negative. Here, everything is positive.

We love the desert landscape, we love the mountains all around, we love the well-organized streets, the many parks, the wonderful dry air. We were at a park yesterday and someone was wearing clothes that we thought were pretty cool. What a foreign feeling to see people who actually dress up and actually care about getting ready in the morning - and look good!

We found out yesterday that Ryan passed the Nevada bar. It is a big relief and we are just excited to be here and to stay for a while. He worked so hard studying and the mental effort to work through the PTSD from the last bar exam while studying at home with two loud children was amazing. It hasn't been a pleasant road for him, but he has done so well.

Everything about coming here has been easier and better than going to Texas. When Ryan got here with the moving truck, the welcome wagon had the truck unloaded in less than an hour. Every other move he has had to do the whole thing basically by himself. It certainly has put a good taste in our mouth. This Friday is Nevada Day. Right now, for me, home means Nevada and I couldn't be happier about it.
**Also, thanks to my friend Maria, I think she introduced me to this video.

Willa Turns 3!

Willa's third birthday was on Monday. We decided to celebrate with my family two days early on Saturday so that she could have cousins and have an actual little party. We're going to do a little cake this weekend in Las Vegas with Ryan and Rebecca and Brandon. Also, I uploaded a few videos here but they're not working. I need to work on that, but I don't have the mental energy right now.

We talked about her party for the week leading up to it, and Willa was very excited. She would break out into singing, "Happy Birthday to me" and then we would list everything that we were going to do at the party:

- Get birthday balloons - an obsession these days, have you ever seen the Little Einsteins where Annie gets birthday balloons? I have, about 100 times.
- Get a cake
- Sing Happy Birthday
- Blow out candles
- Have cousins over
- Open presents

We talked about it over and over again and she was incredibly excited, it was very cute. I partly wanted to do a birthday cake in Centerville because I have fond memories of going to Dick's Marketplace and looking through of big book of possible cake designs to pick my very special cake. Dick's was awesome then and it's even improved it's game now. Has anyone ever been to Dick's bakery? Yum.

Here is a picture of the cake. When we picked it up and opened the lid to show her, she gave this sharp intake of breath, "Ahhh!", put her hands to her mouth, and leaned closer to try and sneak a lick. It was absolute, uninhibited delight.

For the party we sang and did the actions to Ring Around the Rosy, London Bridge, Head Shoulders Knees, and Toes, and If You're Happy and You Know it. I felt a little silly, because most of us were adults or teenage cousins doing it, but she had this cute smile and loved it. I really didn't want to do an over the top party that she wouldn't understand, so I'm glad that even though I felt silly, it was a party on her level just for her.

Willa had a great time, we opened presents and as we unwrapped each one she would say, "Tada!" It was very enjoyable until my mom wrapped a plastic fishing pole that she picked up from the dollar store. She brought an identical one down to Texas a few months ago where it immediately broke and I threw it away on the sly. Now we have a brand new one and it totally captivated Willa's attention away from all other presents. Counting down until I can throw it away again. Thanks mom.

The funny/sad part of the party was blowing out the candles on the cake. Willa's little personality came shining through. She is a very cautious and shy child. She observes for a long time before she feels comfortable and she gets embarrassed easily. I totally understand because she's exactly how I was. I hated attention on me in formal settings - the Primary Program was the dreaded day of the year. One year I was so happy to have a seat behind the organ or somewhere where I could try to melt into the wall and have no one see me.

So, we all gathered 'round the table and sang Happy Birthday, but when it was time to blow the candles out, she was too shy! Then, she wanted us to sing again so that she could do it. Then, when it came time to blow, she was too shy again! I totally feel her pain. She had been looking forward to it so much and then was too embarrassed to actually do it. Here is a short video, it mainly shows her little personality and how she reacts. I know not to push her and that things like this are scary for her. The funny part about this was that after we blew out the candles for the second time, she leaned in and bit off the corner of the cake with her mouth. Yum!

Here are a few more pictures from the party and our Utah trip. Many, but not all, of the Knoles cousins and one adorable Slate Daniels on the bottom left.

Willa and Brody.

Willa loves to sing if you can catch her in the right mood. We got some adorable videos of her standing on a little step stool in the living room and singing perfectly on pitch and with the correct words as my mom accompanied her on the piano. She loved to sing ABCs, Twinkle, London Bridge, and I Am a Child of God.

This video is when she decided to accompany herself to I am a Child of God. She gets distracted and starts being silly, then she gets mad at us for singing along. It's definitely not the most complete recording of her singing, but it shows her personality. "No singing with me!"

Willa is still being very smart. She knows all her letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and it starting to sound out the letters. "D makes the Da sound" - but that is really only after we've been talking about it, or... watching Leapfrog on Netflix when they talk about the alphabet. Willa can trace her own name almost perfectly. I need to find a picture to upload. She was at preschool and they wrote the children's names with a highlighter, then helped the children trace over it with a pen. By the time they got to Willa, after helping the other children, she had already done it. And she did a GREAT job! It must help that most of the letters in her name are made of up straight lines :). Still, I am extremely proud of her, especially since we had never worked on it before. Now I know that we can work on it and I want to start tracing more letters. You have to catch her in the right mood, though.

Willa and I are butting heads a lot these days. I wonder if it's because she's so shy and quiet at playgroups or nursery that when she gets home she finally feels comfortable and has to blow off a little steam. I don't know, all I know is that she pushes my buttons. I didn't know that I had buttons, I'm not sure where they are, but they are getting pushed. Someone, help me get rid of these nefarious buttons! She loves to hug and snuggle me and hold my hand whenever it's not convenient and refuses to do so when it is. I'm hoping that things taper off a little more by 3 1/2, but I don't know. She still tolerates June, with occasional bursts of glorious sunshine when she acknowledges her existence in a positive manner or attempts to play with her or give her a toy. Most of her interaction with June is yelling at her, "No crying!" "No hitting/kicking mommy!" "Mommy, give June to Daddy!" I think the oldest child is always just going to demand more than the younger children. I'm not sure what to do about it. There's probably nothing to do about it but resign yourself, hope the younger children aren't scarred, and then eat a large bowl of ice cream once they are finally in bed.

We took the side off of Willa's crib and made it into a toddler bed a few weeks ago. She has never tried to climb out, but she is slowly weaning herself off her naps. Occasionally, she will play in her bed the entire nap time instead of sleeping. I felt bad that she was trapped in her crib and thought that if she wanted to play, I would give her the option of having access to her toys. If she phases out naps, fine, but she still has to go in her room so I can have a break. We've watched too much "Bedtime for Frances" though, and now when she goes to bed she says, "No getting out of bed!" Whenever I get her up, I find her in bed just talking to herself. So I don't think the message has gotten across to her that we are okay with her getting out... and I probably won't bring it up to her. She is thrilled to have it open, though.

That's our three-year-old. I sure love Willa, but these days are trying times. I feel like I only read happy accounts of angel toddlers who love to play and do what their mommies ask, and who love their new siblings. I wanted to keep it real. These terrific twos have been a bit terrible at times.

Daniel Tiger

Wow, I must feel really contemplative lately! One of Willa's shows these days is Daniel Tiger. It is probably my very favorite show for her to watch, too. Does anyone remember Mister Rogers Neighborhood? This show is an animated continuation of that world.

The music and the characters are very nostalgic to me. Things I never would have remembered - King Friday, Lady Elaine, Mr. McFeely. And the songs! I can't believe that the songs are still familiar 25 + years later.

So, I love it because it brings back so many memories. I also love it because I feel like it is the best preschool/toddler show out there. It deals with their feelings - disappointments, joys - so well. There is this episode about sharing toys. Someone took a toy that someone else wanted and they had to sort it all out. The adult said, "I can tell that you're mad MAD!" It was totally out of the book "Happiest Toddler On The Block" and it was totally age appropriate. Willa understands those feelings and I like that she can watch something that reflects her world and shows her possible solutions. I'm probably shamefully showing how much television Willa gets, which is more than she should have, but this show makes me so happy. There is another episode about being potty-trained and they start singing a song about going to the potty and stopping playing. Again, it is exactly what Willa experiences every day with her friends. Willa is such a cautious child so I think the show actually helps her process things that happen elsewhere and maybe prepare herself better when someone steals a toy from her or when she and a friend want to play together but can't agree on what to play.

Lastly, and I know this is weird, but I have so much admiration and love for Fred Rogers. The more I watch the show and the more I remember about Mister Rogers Neighborhood, I just realize what a wonderful person he was. He did amazing things and he loved children so much. I feel very corny admitting all of this, but at the same time I really feel strongly that he was inspired and that he has done so much good in the world for children.

An Addendum

It's been on my mind again how important it is to read good literature. We can learn not only many facts through books, but also gain much insight into human nature and psychology. Reading challenges our ideas and makes our minds stronger. For me, reading "The Sun Also Rises" was a perfect example of being challenged by the literature and then learning and growing from it.

I've mentioned it before, but I hate hate HATE book snobs. Especially the people who claim that they are so busy that they only have time for non-fiction. What is that supposed to mean? What do they expect to gain by reading non-fiction? Are they in the middle of saving the world? Is there a cancer cure that they are going to discover by connecting all their non-fiction books' dots together? Really, is another Michael Pollan book out there that is going to absolutely change everything for you if you read it?

In my opinion, a lot of non-fiction is a platform for someone to voice their opinion on something. In fact, maybe I should write a non-fiction book that is my opinion on why we shouldn't limit ourselves to non-fiction. I have nothing against non-fiction, I enjoy it at times. I just despise people who purposely read it like it's this life mission and they can't waste their time or be bothered with other books. I feel like we have so much to learn from fiction. Maybe I won't learn about bad farming practices in the United States, or be converted to eating organically from fiction - but I will learn more about humanity and empathy. I feel like I will grow more in the aspects of actually being a human by reading fiction.

In my AP US History class, we were playing some game testing our WWII trivia. I was killing it for our team. I seriously knew all the answers, and I knew that I hadn't learned these answers in class or in the textbook. One of my teammates asked how I knew some of the answers. I thought about it and realized that I had read about them in fiction books. That was one moment when I understood what people meant when they said they learned from reading. The things I learn now are probably more ephemeral than what a Victory Garden is, but I think they are just as important.

There has been some research recently that suggests that reading fiction makes us more empathetic people. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-oatley/is-fiction-good-for-you_b_939121.html It refers to reading here as "deep reading". I think that this is some very interesting stuff and totally supports me in all that I'm saying because I am so smart.

Finally, I'm not a book snob. I own an embarrassing amount of LDS romance novels, even after donating boxes of them to a prison once for someone's Eagle Scout Project. (I sometimes wonder what those prisoners thought of them :). I also love Twilight and Harry Potter. I can appreciate a good story and enjoy it for what it is. It's a little embarrassing for me to admit these things, but that's exactly why I'm doing it. I don't think we should shame people about what they are reading. If you like it, read it. If it's fun, read it. You don't have to be a snooty snooty-pants about everything in life. I write on the blog about books that have made me think, but I don't want to give the impression that I only read hoity-toity books and that I'm sooo intelligent. I have a very high threshold for bad fiction.

The Lost Generation

I know that my blog posts are so boring these days. I don't often think of interesting things to write about and when I do, I never get around to writing about them. But, today I'm thinking of something interesting AND I'm writing it down. Lucky you!

I have been in this hoity-toity book club that only reads classics and was kind of ridiculous enough for Ryan and me to make fun of, but really the joke has been on me because I have actually enjoyed it! I called it the Finer Things Club (from The Office). We read only classics and the year was divided into semesters. You could submit a semester proposal and then we would vote on each proposal to decide what to read next. So, each semester (four months) had a theme and books that followed that theme. In addition, two people at each meeting gave a short 2-5 minute presentation on something interesting or historical or boring.

I like to make fun of it and all of its rules, but really, like I said, the joke is on me because it actually worked and I enjoyed it most of the time. The latest semester's theme was "The Lost Generation" and we were reading books from those authors. Our first book (and my last book, since we moved before the rest of the semester played out) was "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Heminway.

I was intrigued by the theme this time, but not over-anxious for it since I like to read happy books and I knew this would be a semester of sad/lonely books. Anyway, but this time I was prepared for the sadness and so I enjoyed the book so much more. Context is important, y'all. If you go into a Hemingway book looking for a happy ending or a nice little mental holiday, then you'll be let down. If you go into it ready to be depressed, then you can really appreciate it.

Book club on this book was really good. Sure, there was the regular inane conversation and comments, "I can't believe I wasted my time reading a book about these immoral people. These are supposed to be the good guys? It was not uplifting at all!" Yes, that conversation happened during book club.

However, we discussed the idea of the "Lost Generation" and what it means to be lost, if we could relate to the characters in the book. Again, cue inane comments by people who took this question too literally and talked about people who were lost because they drank and slept around just like the characters in the book. But, it was an intriguing question for me. In my mind, I had an illuminating thought for me.

My thought was, that we become lost when our life doesn't follow the trajectory that we had planned or expected. I think we all go through periods when we are lost, when our life doesn't make sense and we have to readjust our expectations and goals to reflect our new life. For example, for couples who haven't been able to conceive children but who always expected to have children. You feel a loss at the life you imagined you would have and what you actually do have. Or, if you planned on getting married and you are still single. Or, if you get divorced. You plan on being with your spouse with the rest of your life, but divorce happens and suddenly your life takes a completely different turn than you were expecting. You are lost for a while learning to navigate this new life. Learning contentment or anger or happiness.

I feel like you have to work through a grieving process before you can move on. You have to grieve for the life you were expecting to have, and that's okay. I think it's important to be resilient, to grieve and then to not be lost forever. A successful person and a happy person must be able to eventually find themselves and make a new life after they have been lost.

I think of the authors who fit in the Lost Generation, and the characters in "The Sun Also Rises" - coming out of World War I. Even if they hadn't been physically injured, there was such an emotional toll that they became lost. The innocent life they had imagined for themselves before the war was lost to them and they had to learn to navigate a whole new life.

A lady in our ward was at a playgroup and said something like, "Yeah, life doesn't always turn out how you expect it to." It's kind of a dumb comment because it's so obvious, but it's also something that is so hard to accept. Things don't turn out, but what are you going to do about it? Are you going to go through life bitterly thinking that you've been robbed of certain happinesses?

I was listening to an NPR about Chris Hitchens about a year ago. I don't think he's an admirable person, but his widow, or someone, was on there saying something that really stuck with me. Hitchens used to say that whatever didn't destroy him made him stronger, but then he got cancer. After that, he felt the opposite. The cancer hadn't made him stronger, he felt diminished by the cancer.

I really understand that feeling. I felt that so much during our time in Houston. I felt diminished by the trials and not strengthened. It was worrisome because I didn't want to become all shriveled and embittered from these trials we were going through, but how do you stop that from happening? Ryan and I felt so lost in Houston because our life was not turning out how we had expected or planned and we felt powerless.

Recently, I have felt very calm and peaceful. I like to think that I'm adjusting to my new life and that I'm not "lost" anymore in my expectation of a different life. I'm not sure if I did anything, or if I just needed time. Or, if we just needed a move to get us out of Houston and to have something to look forward to :).

Growing up, and even through college, my life pretty much went exactly how I had planned. In fact, I remember talking to someone during my freshmen year and saying all the things I wanted to accomplish. He kind of scoffed at me and said, "Yeah, right, you won't do all that." Well, I very pridefully DID do all that! I had a plan and I stuck to it and it worked. I think Ryan's life was the same - he was successful in what he did. It has been a huge curve ball for us to not succeed, to not have things go the way we had planned.

In reading this book, I had so much empathy for the characters. It also gave me hope in my life, that there are bumps and delays and rerouting, but we can come through it. We will be lost for a while, but we can find our new selves. We don't have to go back to our old selves. We can never do that, but we can develop a new, better self. A more knowledgeable self. A more loving and kind self. I hope we can do that.

Anyway, those are my jumbled thoughts. This was a super long post, so if you made it this far, you are a true friend.

June - 7 months

We didn't get any great seven month photos of June since we are currently in Utah and Mister Owl is in a box somewhere in Las Vegas. Still, June needs a little post about her achievements.

June is sitting up mostly well, but I like to have a pillow behind her because she's not consistently steady on her own yet. She very much likes sitting on the couch instead of the floor so that she can see all of the action. Within about a week of turning six months old, June developed a textbook case of stranger/separation anxiety. It's killing me. What happened to my super social, smiley baby? She used to play for long periods of time by herself, but now if she catches a glimpse of me walking by - thus realizing that I'm not right next to her - she becomes quite sad and agitated. If anyone else tries to hold her, including Ryan, she screams and screams. Actually, she does sometimes have a little patience with Ryan if I'm not in the room or if he's walking with her - but mostly she screams for me, especially if she sees me. Now that we are in Utah, she is stranger shy of everyone and has the loudest, shriekiest, horrific scream you can imagine. It sounds terrible and you would think she's in intense pain except for the fact that she stops immediately when I pick her up or take her from whomever is holding her.

I think she must be a little bit of a drama queen. Willa was a very even-keeled baby. She was slow with her smiles, but generally content, though she was very attached to me. June is more dramatic. Big highs and lows. Laughing and smiling and then screaming when she doesn't get what she wants. I see this with her sleeping/not sleeping, on the airplane she is much fussier in take-off and landing than Willa was, and I'm nervous to see what traits teething and illness will bring out in her. It's very amusing except when I am a little tired of holding her and would like a break to put her down. In choir practice, she got to the point where she was happier sitting by herself on the pew with a few toys than having someone besides me hold her. Silly girl.

Sleeping is going better, she can do 10-11 hours, but sometimes likes to wake up before that just to keep me on my toes. Her better sleeping is directly correlated to her new ability to successfully re-insert her fallen pacifier by herself. Her eyes are still a dark blue. I kind of think of them as the color of a stormy ocean. I have no idea what's going to happen to them. Could they still turn brown at this point? Will they lighten up? My best guess is that they are going to turn into some sort of hazel. She has killer long eyelashes, which is probably a big reason why she looks like a little doll. She still gets many many compliments from friends and strangers wherever we go. Even though she doesn't like to be held by anyone but me, she definitely loves to watch Ryan and will whip her little head around so that she can follow him with her eyes. She will just smile and smile at him until he smiles back. She also loves Willa a lot (reciprocated about 20% of the time). I hope I'm not damaging her too much by second child syndrome, but there is only so much of me to go around these days and only so many uninterrupted naps she can have before we have to go to an activity.

Solids are going... not as well as I'd hoped. I just want a nursing break but that tongue-thrust reflex is strong! I've also spoiled her by giving her yummy fruits instead of gross vegetables. She's coming around, but someone remind me about this the next time I decide that I'm too lazy to make my newborn take an occasional bottle.

We Made It!

As in, we made it out of Texas! I flew with the kids to Utah while Ryan and his parents drive the truck to Vegas. My best cousin is getting married next week, so it just seemed easier to come stay with my mom for a week instead of subjecting us and the kids to that car ride.

Ryan and I were busy busy packing and cleaning last night. We both reminisced about the last day in Los Angeles packing up the truck and cleaning. We were both heartbroken at leaving and started crying. We kept trying to stretch it out and had this feeling of dread. Next time we feel that way, we will definitely pay attention! Oh, how our feelings were different this time around. There were/are bouts of nostalgia and sentiment, but we are so so happy to be leaving. We will miss people and friends. I noticed on my last morning run yesterday how a certain mom would walk her son to the bus stop every morning. She used to carry a newborn with her, but how surprised I was recently when there was a walking toddler coming with her instead of the same tiny newborn. It's been fun to see people grow and have a rhythm and routine.

STILL, we did it! We escaped! I shed a few tears saying goodbye to friends, but none saying goodbye to Texas. In fact, when our plan started to descend into Salt Lake and I saw the mountains, I actually got teary-eyed a bit realizing that that ordeal is over. We never have to go back (not that it was torture, but you know). So hurrah! We landed safely, we made it to Utah, and I successfully juggled a toddler and a 6 month old on two planes with a layover! Rather, I should just say that the three of us survived the journey intact - which is a success in my opinion.

Texas - where the beaches have an unhealthy concentration of bad bacteria over Labor Day.

I keep thinking of little sayings to reflect our leaving Texas. None of them are particularly inventive or polite, but I need an outlet for them. I try to keep things as bland as possible on FB, so the blog is the perfect place to vent. For some reason, I keep turning them over in my mind while running in the morning.

"Smell ya later, Texas." - it really does stink here sometimes

"Texas, where there only thing bigger than its borders is its inferiority complex."

"Too bad, not sad."

"It was real, and it was not fun, and it was really not fun."

"See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya."

Is there a word for putting your thumb on your nose and wiggling your fingers while sticking out your tongue?

There are others, but I can't think of them right now. I know there are nice parts to Texas, but I am so happy to be leaving!

Last Children's Museum

We went to the Children's Museum yesterday with Kim and Bridgett. I really wanted to go one last time before we leave. We ended up staying almost four hours! At 1:15 pm, I looked at Kim and said if they didn't crash first, that we should leave by 2 pm. At 2 pm they were still going strong serving us pizza in the little fake restaurant but Kim and I were exhausted! Little June was especially exhausted and had been a real trooper - only getting about a 30 minute nap in the five hours since we'd left the house, poor second child.


Amid many protests, we packed up and headed for home. We hoped Willa and Bridgett would take a little car nap on the drive (it is about 40 minutes). It was too late to get an afternoon nap at home, but they were pretty tired and the whining in the car ended up reaching a fevered pitch.

We told them to go to sleep and this is what we got:

 They would close their eyes and pretend to sleep, and then dissolve into giggles. It was so cute and they played so well together all day. We sure are going to miss this when we leave.

Breaking Away

Willa loves her trike these days. She can really get going on the open road and it is cute to see her little legs pump those pedals so fast. Her favorite thing is for Ryan to go on a bike ride with her on the old beach cruiser. They take a little loop around the neighborhood.

Saturday and Sunday were our first coolish days. Meaning, it got up to the high 80s, low 90s, but the mornings were cool. This morning is supposed to be in the 60s so we are excited. It's a strange feeling to walk outside and have the weather be pleasant and bearable.

I had the last harp lesson with one of my students on Saturday. The other last lessons will happen this week. I cried a little and it was sad for me. I think I would feel a lot better about leaving if I felt good about the teachers I was leaving them with. Sadly, I'm the only Suzuki harp teacher in Houston and most of my students would like to stay with the method. I have been very disappointed in their students of some of the teachers. We played a Christmas concert last year with other students and you could hardly recognize what pieces they were playing. There was a noticeable difference between the other students and my students. I want to be the kind of teacher that I had - meticulous. My students don't pass off music until it's perfect. So far, they have all thrived, but I have to be pretty strict with them at times. I'm the only teacher on this side of town so now my students will need to drive 45 minutes or more to a new teacher. Considering all the sacrifices students have made to take from my harp teacher ShruDe, that's not a huge deal, but when both parents work and the kids are involved in tons of activities it's hard. Anyway, that's my aside. The reality of moving is setting in and it's happy and sad.

The Intelligent Princess

We've had the glasses for one week now and it seems to be going well. She wears them about 80% of her awake time, sometimes more. I don't want to make it a big power struggle so when she takes them off, I just ask her if she wants a little break from them and I fold them up and take them away. Then, a few minutes later we put them back on again.

She has a backup pair and a main pair. We went to this amazing optical store that the hospital recommended. They were fantastic. They had a whole room dedicated entirely to children. It was personalized, one-on-one attention and service. The man who helped us was super knowledgeable and helped us pick some really great fitting frames for Willa. He had a lot of good points that I had never thought of. For example, square or rectangular frames on kids aren't good because often the child will look over the top of the frame.

We picked a pair of frames, but when I got home and called the insurance they wouldn't cover it. I cancelled the order and then we went to another store that the insurance did cover. What a difference! It was not a very pleasant experience. It wasn't bad, but compared to the other store... there was just no comparison. Still, we found a pair of glasses for Willa but the selection was very, very small and none of them fit her great. We ordered them and then that night I was talking to my mom. Willa has to wear the glasses every day and it's going to be a big adjustment. She should have something that is comfortable, durable, and that looks cute on her. The following morning I called the first place and reordered the good glasses. She could use the insurance pair as a back-up; it can't hurt to get a two year old a second pair of glasses.

Here are her insurance glasses. I picked a photo of her looking down so you don't get the glare. They are actually pretty cute in a hipster-ish way. They just are a smidge too big and slide down her nose a little. Just not as high quality. I also think they kind of take over her face.

Playing with Bridgett in their respective princess dresses. Willa's was a Christmas gift from her O'Kelley cousins and it is very much loved. It even got worn to the doctor's office last week! Bridgett is the most princess, girly girl in the world, so we decided to get her one for her birthday a few weeks ago.

Here is her new, better pair of glasses. They are a light polished purple. They're not the cutest thing if I'm going after style, but for a little tot I think they are great. They fit SO much better, they stay on her and I think they are more comfortable. She had been wearing the not-as-good pair for a few days when we went to get these glasses. When she tried them on she said, "I like these glasses!" They came in a brown, which was super cute, but since her other pair is dark I wanted something that didn't overpower her little face. You can tell the frames are of so much better quality and they have a lifetime warranty. So if they break, we'll put on her back-up pair and ship these back to the store to be replaced.

How do I feel about all of this? Her prescription is actually quite strong, which was surprising to me. I'm sad that she hasn't been seeing well and I'm happy that we can correct her vision. I'm sad because it's hard for a little girl to want to wear glasses. She has to wear them all the time. She's been pretty good about it, but sometimes I wish we didn't have to put them on her. It changes her little face so much to me and even though I think she's super cute, it makes me a little sad, a little overprotective. Right now she's getting lots of compliments on them, so I think she sees them as a positive thing. (We got the first pair Saturday afternoon so the next day was Sunday and at church she got tons of positive attention from everyone, which made her happy to wear them.) I'm scared for the day when she might get her feelings hurt about them. Those are my thoughts. I'm not very good with change so it's hard to see such a big change on my little girl.

Plane Tickets and this week

We have had a crazy week. I've been getting all our doctor's appointments in before we leave, so on Monday I took Willa to a pediatric ophthalmologist at the children's hospital in Houston. Many of you might remember that as an infant her eyes sometimes looked like this:

Her right eye would turn inwards. I asked the pediatrician about it. She thought that it was most likely because she had a wide bridge between her eyes. It looked like they were rolling in, but really she just needed to grow into her face. Now, at almost three years old I'd like to believe she has grown more into her face. Sometimes her right eye still looked wonky to me. I asked our new and improved pediatrician and he thought that we should take her to the ophthalmologist just in case. He also suggested the children's hospital, which I was 100% for. I want to go to a place that is specifically catered towards children and working with them.

We went on Monday. I was expecting them to look at her eyes and say, "Yep, they look great! She just needs to grow into them more." Instead, the OT thought something was off and they decided to dilate the eyes. This just turned a 15 minute appointment into something much longer. Luckily, since we were at an awesome children's hospital they had a dimmed playroom where we could wait for the 30 minutes for the eyes to dilate. She finally saw the doctor and amid much kicking, screaming, and holding of the eyelids open - the doctor thought that she was farsighted in one eye. Her right eye is farsighted, so when she is trying to focus up close it crosses and goes inward. 

We are getting glasses, but the doctor thinks that the eyes will eventually correct themselves if we treat it now. That's the good news. It was a long, tiring day - especially since we missed naptime. On Tuesday, we went to look for glasses and had to go to three different shops thus taking the entire day(long story). BUT, finally I pulled in from the last store on Tuesday night at 6:45 pm with the glasses ordered.

This phone call with the insurance company will typify what my Tuesday was like,

me: "M as in Moon."

Them: "Okay, let me verify, N as in Nancy?"

 Grrr !@#@Q#%@##$@!! It was a comedy of errors, Tuesday was.

Then, Wednesday morning I called another shop and ordered her a back-up pair. Then, Wednesday afternoon I took June to the doctor where they gave her FIVE!! shots because they were out of the 3 in 1 shot that they normally do. Finally, Wednesday night Willa started screaming and holding her diaper. Uh oh, not another UTI. She was up late crying until we forced more water in her and made her urinate. I made an appointment for this morning. Then, after much gnashing of teeth, taping a urine bag, crying, screaming, kicking, hitting, empty urine bag, and now a catheter - it turns out that she does not have a UTI, but probably just an irritated vagina. Anyway, that's my week.

The good news, oh the great news, is that I bought our plane tickets! There was about 98% happiness and 2% sadness when I purchased the tickets. Within ten minutes it has transformed into 100% pure, hyperactive happiness. I'm so excited. I'm glad to say good-bye to this place. Smell ya later, Texas!