"Tucks" and other big words

I've been waiting to post until I could download a few pictures, but I don't think my parents' computer is reading the memory card, so I doubt I will have downloaded pictures anytime soon.

About two weeks ago, Willa and I were walking around the neighborhood and she saw the neighbor's cat and mooed at it. She has never really attempted any animal sounds at all before (though she could also do ducks). I said "meow" and then Willa meowed at it. From then on, she started roaring and making whatever animal sound we asked for whenever we asked. It was like she just decided to go for it. Since we've been in Utah, her language has just started exploding and she's finally at the point where she is experimenting and trying new words every day.

Her favorite words are tucks (trucks) and cars. She loves cars very much and can tell the difference between her toy trucks and her toy cars. She has been saying so many words out of the blue, it is so fun. We were looking at pictures from the summer and she pointed at the swimming pool, said "pool" and then pointed to the backyard. She says park, car, seat, cart (for grocery cart), ready set go, lots of animal sounds, and a whole bunch of words that I can't even keep track. When I say a word, she tries it out and experiments making the first letter sound. It is very cute and adorable and HELPFUL! The other night in the bathtub she yelled "Mommy!" and started pointing to her basket of bath toys. I asked what she wanted and she said, "Cars?!" Normally, there are a few play cars in the bath toys, but they weren't in there that night. I was able to say, "Oh, you want some cars? I'll go get some!" I sure love my girl!

First Snow

We had some snow two nights ago, so after a quick trip to buy some purple snowpants, Willa was ready for her first snow experience yesterday! She was a little wary at first, I had to show her how to walk in it and and that it was okay and fun to eat little handfuls (maybe not the best idea, but every kid needs the experience of eating fresh snow). I think if she were around other kids playing in it then she might be a little braver. By the end of the fun, she was brave enough to put the little snowman's head back on when it fell off. It's snowing right now and there is more in the forecast, so it looks like we'll soon have more than these few pathetic inches to play in. Our snowman turned out to be more of a garden gnome.

She also tried sledding down the back hill, and of course she wanted to go swinging since we were in the back yard. Typical of a toddler, she refused to wear gloves or a hat. Thanks so much to Aunt Becca for the early Christmas Uggs! They are all she has worn since we've been in Utah; they are so toasty warm and easy for me to put on her! I was also happy to see that she still fits her little white coat from Grandma Daniels. It is so soft and warm, I'm glad we're getting some more use out of it!

In Utah

Willa and I flew to Utah yesterday; we'll be here for a few weeks through the holidays. I was very worried about traveling because we didn't book a direct flight this time (it was over a thousand dollars cheaper to have a layover!), but she was SUCH a good girl on the plane! She had her own seat and did a great job of sitting with her seat belt on during take-offs and landings. I was very nervous that she would be scared and want to sit on my lap, and then we would get kicked off the plane for crying when the flight attendant wanted her to sit in her own seat. However, I think she has started to retain memories of all our many flights! She wasn't scared ever and was just a really great girl. She played with her toys and was delightful. I, on the other hand, had this massive head cold that has been worsened by pregnancy insomnia. The long day of traveling and cabin pressure made me feel like my head was going to explode the whole time. It was a little miracle that she was so good because I did not have the mental or physical capability to deal with a tantruming toddler. We made it, though, and are happily settling in at grandma's house!

Big Changes Pt. 2: Home Renters

We are now home renters! It's very strange and came about very unexpectedly, but so far we love it! Our apartment building kept demanding long-term leases, which we really never felt comfortable with since Ryan is still looking for a job. We would have to talk them down to six month terms every time, and with every new lease they would raise the rent. We were living our lives in six month increments just waiting to see what would happen. Last June, we decided that we had signed the last six month lease - especially since the end of the lease would be our two year anniversary of moving here. Come hell or high water, something was changing at the end of the six months. In our minds, that meant either saying sayonara to the Texas experiment or maybe moving to the other side of Houston so that Ryan wouldn't have such a long commute.

That decision was the easy part. The hard part was figuring out which option to take. We talked and talked and talked and prayed and fasted and talked and prayed and fasted and we still felt absolutely no direction. It felt like a stupor of thought about leaving and a stupor of thought about staying. Meanwhile, time was a ticking. The weeks and then months passed and we felt no closer to making a decision. October came, then NOVEMBER (our lease was up December 2) and still no closer! It was probably one of the most difficult decisions we had ever faced together. In a way, much more difficult than moving to Texas. Back then, we had hopes that hadn't been crushed by life experiences. Now, we knew where a bad decision could lead and we were scared. Finally, after one discussion in November where we talked in circles and realized that we were no closer to making a decision, we decided to call in for reinforcements. We started meeting with a member of the stake presidency who has always been very kind to us and interested in our life; he's also a pretty knowledgable businessman, so he could give us counsel concerning that, too. He really helped us refocus our goals and thoughts for the direction we wanted for our family.

A third option opened up for us that we hadn't really considered seriously before. Willa's former babysitter and her family moved to Denver a few months ago. Their house has been sitting vacant since it's a really tough market right now. She had called about two months ago to see if we were interested in renting, but at that point our future plans were too unsettled. I contacted her again, and now we're renting their house! I love it because it's a mutually beneficial decision. We are helping them by filling the house with renters, watching over the house, and taking better care of the house than possible random renters might. They are helping us by giving us a very generous rent (about the same as our apartment) and allowing us to be in their nice house with a month-to-month lease! We hadn't planned on staying in this part of town, but it feels like the best decision for us right now. It feels so relaxing to not worry about being here 3 months, 6 months, or more. Ryan and I both feel very peaceful and good about staying. It's hard because I wish the right thing had been to move to Utah, I think neither of us love it here, but we do feel good about our decision right now.

We're still surrounded by a lot of boxes, but it is amazing having more room! We've never really had more than 850 sq feet and it is life-changing. It's not a huge house, three bedroom and two and a half baths, but it feels palatial right now. I miss having the small and easy apartment space - my keys could only be in a few places, it was very easy to clean, but it was so difficult to make it a nice and relaxing environment because we just have so much STUFF. If we had a nice and cushy income, I think I would like being in a small space. I could just throw away all this stuff that I only randomly use, or that I am saving for the future because I know that I can buy it again when I need it. Ever since we've been married, we've kind of been hoarders. Keeping wedding gifts that have no real purpose at this time (maybe in five years they will). In the house, there is space to store it all and also space to use it. I finally used a tablecloth for the first time that we received from our wedding. I hate that I held onto it for five years, but now I'm glad to have it! Before, we never had a table big enough to use it. Also, it was annoying to dig into our one linen closet and having to move the extra toilet paper and paper towels, cleaning supplies, towels, beach bag, extra sheets, pillow, inflatable mattress, food storage, etc. just to find one tablecloth. I was filling the upstairs linen closet here and almost started crying as I was able to cleanly place sheets on one shelf, towels on one shelf, and just have everything orderly and accessible. I've even been cooking more and excited to cook because I don't have to climb up on a stool, empty a cupboard to find that one appliance I need that is behind all the other appliances, pull it down, have it clutter the counter while I cook, etc. I honestly don't know if I should have tossed so much of the stuff that crowded our apartment, or held onto it. I'm glad to have things now! I know that if I had thrown stuff out, I would be wanting to buy it now and not have the money to do so. If we had been renting a storage unit, that would have been a different story - I would have tossed everything and just saved the money we would have spent on the storage unit so that we could buy new stuff later.

Anyway, those are our big changes! Nothing huge, but definitely something different. We feel very optimistic about the future and feel like our faith has been much stronger lately.

It's so fun to have a yard! It's so easy to go outside and play with Willa! I don't dread coming home with groceries and figuring out how many trips it will take to get them and Willa up to the apartment!

Big Changes Pt.1: Catch and Released

Wow, lots of goings-on here! First of all, I got released from my calling as Young Women's president! Huzzah, hurrah!! I feel badly saying that, but it is such a relief. It was such a difficult, difficult calling for me; I think it's mostly because I have so many other stresses on my mind with Ryan's job, living in Texas, but another huge part of it is our ward. We have a great ward, we love them, but the boundaries are drawn so that it is a very humble ward. There are a lot of blue-collar shift workers who can't hold regular callings because they never know their schedule. There are a lot of airline pilots who also have a difficult time with callings because their flight schedules constantly change and they might miss six months of Sundays at a time. There are lots of single mothers. There is a lot of poverty. Basically, people are tired and are just trying to get by in life. There is a real leadership vacuum (hello, why else would I have this calling in the first place?) because there just aren't very many active adults.

Youth callings are always hard, and I think mine was harder than normal because I didn't have much help. In the beginning, we only had a few girls so we didn't want many advisors. It was just my two counselors, me, and one advisor who taught the Beehive Sunday lessons. Most YW programs have lots of advisors who teach the lessons and plan the activities. I had to teach several times a month, plan the activities (or call and make sure my counselors had planned what was on the calendar). The ward boundaries are quite large and we regularly have four investigators at activities and on Sundays. I had to call everyone and make sure they had rides - usually me, which meant I had to leave almost an hour early to pick them up and get to the activity in time, then I'd get home a lot later, too. Plus, Ryan would usually come home early so that I could leave, so I'd hardly get to see him. The middle schools here don't get out until 4:00 pm!!! So, if I needed to visit any girls, they wouldn't be home until after 4:30 (riding the bus), so then I'd be visiting at the worst traffic time, worst toddler time, worst dinner-making time. Add on top of that, parents who are rarely happy and aren't afraid to complain to me about everything we're doing wrong (when it's their daughters who make the other girls not want to come to YW's anymore!). None of these things are huge, but they just wore me down - and I really didn't do them very well, either.

Still, I'd like to remember two really great instances with the Young Women that made me realize why some people love that calling so much. A few months ago we took the youth to see the BYU Folk Dancers. It was such a great performance, but we got home really late. It was so hilarious being in a car with a bunch of really hyper Beehives. They were cracking me up. Another time when we went to visit one of our new Beehives, we asked about hobbies or interests she had. Her answer was, "I absolutely, one hundred percent LOVE Taylor Swift!!!!" I just love Beehives and their enthusiasm.

Second, we had Young Women in Excellence a few weeks ago. Last year, we only had four girls in our program total. We combined with another ward for Young Women in Excellence and only had one girl show up! This year, our Mia Maids planned the entire thing. We had eleven girls attend and participate and we have a total of fifteen girls in the program now! It was such a great evening and it was so nice to see the program grow and have some energy. This past Sunday, I also saw one of my favorite girls sustained as Laurel president. She has had a hard life and this past year made a total 180 degree turn. Last Sunday she spoke in church and was set apart as Laurel president - two things that would never have happened a year ago. It was a good day for me to end on.

The Results!

Willa had her evaluation and it went really well. The two workers came to the apartment with a box of toys. It was fascinating to watch them work with her and to see what she could do. They tested everything: social skills, communication with gestures and with words, gross motor and fine motor, and cognitive. They are so good at what they do and so good at getting her to do things! She was so well-behaved and did all the good tricks that I know she can do. It was actually very exciting for her to see what new game they were going to pull out of the box next. They would demonstrate something like matching a color or matching a shape and then ask her to do it. She was awesome at everything, naturally :). 

She actually tested right on for her age for most things. Her speech was the only thing behind, and it is only a two month delay. Actually, her speaking is low, but her communication skills with gestures, eye contact, etc. was really high so that pulled the overall "communication" skill up to just a two month delay. She doesn't qualify for help, which is the best thing, but they did give me some tips to get her talking more. I started trying them yesterday and have already seen some results!

I am used to asking a lot of yes/no questions. They said to start giving her a choice and showing her the objects. For example, holding two pairs of pajamas up and asking, "Do you want pink or blue?" That gives her a chance to experiment and use the word in a non-stressful situation. I tried it with pajamas yesterday and she pointed, but I also tried it with milk and water and she made an "Ma" sound, which they said I should congratulate her on.

Another idea was while we read books or sing songs, if I suddenly stop right before a word that she knows, then give her time to finish the thought. I did this with the ABC book yesterday and she actually said "C" for the letter c. So, basically I'm just supposed to incorporate more of that into everything we do. They also suggested doing the singing in the car while I'm not looking at her to take some of the pressure off. I'm sure a lot of people already know about stuff like this, but they were new ideas to me that I really like. If she isn't putting two words together in about six months, they will come test her again. Overall, though, since she did so well on everything else they really don't think there is a problem. I'm wondering if she and Bridgette have been bad influences on each other. They are both delayed with speech and maybe playing together allows them to still get away with not using words. They're not being challenged as much as if they were with older kids. Bridgette has just started using more words, hopefully it rubs off.

One of the questions they asked was if she plays make-believe. Here is a picture of her from yesterday before they even came. She is doing Lambchops' hair. You can see in the first picture that she is using the squirt bottle, in the second picture she is using the comb. 

She was really advanced in a few things, her social skills were at a 33 month level, and shockingly her motors skills were advanced. I'm the biggest, clumsiest, klutz around, so I'm not sure how that happened. Her gross motor skills are a few months advanced, but her fine motor skills tested at 40 months! That's like 3 1/2 years old! They said that could be why her speech is slower - because it is easier for her to do things herself than to form the words. In the bath, instead of saying bubbles, she will hit the water until it forms a bubble and then she will point to it. They have to keep testing until the baby can't do the task anymore, so they were pulling out tests that they said they don't normally do. For one of the skills, she was the only girl they have ever seen who was able to do it.

I am really happy about the motor skills. I don't want any of our kids to go into the liberal arts in college. It's a shame, because the most intelligent people I have ever met at BYU or IU or USC were in the liberal arts, but they are also the people with the worst jobs or long-term employment stability. I really just want Willa to be good at spatial ideas and reasoning so that she can get a math-oriented career like engineering. Ryan tells me that I can't get too caught up in this, but I think I will have a hard time if our kids choose a liberal arts major. I'd be fine with a minor, or even a double major if one of them was science or business based. Of course, I'm probably jinxing myself by writing this down. It will be just my luck that Willa will be an English major, which is definitely the very worst and lowest denominator of all liberal arts. I would definitely be better if she choose Classics, Philosophy, Literature, or Humanities. English majors are like the bottom dredgings of a pond - there are even statistics that show that some large percentage of English majors are only there because they couldn't get accepted into another program, whereas a professor once told our class that Comp Lit students always come from the top 3% of admitted university students at BYU.

 I'm thinking that it's time to start harp lessons. Three is the age, and if her motor skills are ready, then what's stopping us :)? I had the harp out yesterday and was playing taka taka jump jump for her. I got excited because I thought she had started to imitate the hand position in the air, but then I realized that she was just making the gestures for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star because she really likes me to play that for her on the harp while she sings along. Baby steps.

Silly Willa

It's been a long time since I just did a post about Willa and where she is right now. I want to remember what she is learning and what she thinks is funny these days.

She loves to eat oatmeal in the morning. This morning she found it particularly hilarious to eat her oatmeal with two little green spoons from her tea set. You can also see that she has a water in her tea cup. Can you tell that the water is cloudy because she has been dunking oatmeal in there and then still eating it? Yuck.

Typical baby hoarding - takes apart toilet and hides letters inside.

I looked over one morning and she was jamming out on the keyboard with her sunglasses on, a pacifier, and a little teacup and spoon.

We went to our ward primary activity on Saturday. She got to ice a sugar cookie. I've made bar sugar cookies, but not cut-out, iced cookies before (too much work) so she didn't quite know what to do with it at first, but she soon learned to lick all the frosting off.

Ryan and I had to speak in church on Sunday. He snuggled around her on the couch watching Caillou and eating pancakes while I worked on my talk at the computer.

These days, Willa LOVES Caillou! It is her television show of choice these days. She also loves her little Minnie Mouse doll from Aunt Shannon and likes to take it in the bathtub with her.

Willa loves to be outside or be going somewhere. Sometimes in the car when we are driving one direction, she will start saying, "No, no, no" because she wants to go somewhere else like the park. I'll be glad to get out of this apartment if only for the reason that it is an ordeal to get to and from the car. I don't mind the distance, but it's a battle every time because she wants to stay outside and play and do everything herself.

She likes to play pretend. Her favorites are pretending to give Lambchops food to eat or drink. She also likes pretending to put them to bed. She also like me to pretend to go to sleep. Whenever she finds something that she probably shouldn't be playing with, she immediately looks at me, starts backing away saying "bye bye", and then finally runs into the other room with her prized booty. I love when this happens with stuff that I don't care if she plays with - like cotton balls, or old newspaper ads. She can also put her own shoes on successfully sometimes!

She's still not talking a lot and it is frustrating her a little more. The speech people are coming tomorrow to evaluate her. She does, however, know almost all the alphabet. She can recognize about 20 letters, if I ask her to find them, she can point them out to me. She likes numbers and can count to two :), and is starting to recognize more. She knows all her colors and shapes. She just sees things and wants to know what they are. Her favorite book is Dr. Suess's ABC's. We had been reading it for a while when I realized that she could actually recognize a few letters, after that I started helping her more and working with her to pick them out.

She knows her timeout corner and can point to it shame-faced when asked. We've only had to do it twice, but I have threatened more than that (mainly when we have friends over). She loves to play with friends at their houses. I am learning to invite more friends over here, because it is much harder to share your own toys than to play with someone else's!

I feel like she has a very silly personality and loves to be in on the action. She has started being very sad when Ryan leaves - mainly because she thinks he is going out to play without her. She tried to play hooky from nursery yesterday. She was making such a fuss that I wondered if she wasn't feeling well, but I soon realized that she just wanted to play outside instead. No dice, I made her go back inside and told her that we were at church.