Happy 1st Birthday Cali!

I can't believe that Cali turned 1 today. She seems to have grown up so fast. As I look back on her pictures, she seems to have changed so much. I'm a little sad that she is growing up so fast, but I'm excited to see her as she tries to walk and starts to talk. She is so much fun to have around and I love her so much. I am so grateful to have her in our family. We sure do love our Cali. I hope you enjoy the following picture journey through Cali's 1st year.

Just hours old

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

1 year!!!!

Is it time to pray?

State Championship Game

On Friday we were able to go to our nephew's (#93) state championship football game. It was a blast to go to and the girls enjoyed it. Katya sat all happy and clapped a lot while Cali enjoyed taking a nap. It was awesome to see James play again. Unfortunately, Cottonwood lost, but it was a good game. Good job James!

Why am I so excited for this week?

1. 17 days till Jethro graduates!!
2. No school for Jethro this week!
3. Thanksgiving
4. 2 Christmas projects are done!
5. Get to put up our Christmas tree!
6. Katya has Play-N-Learn!
7. Cali turns 1!
8. More Christmas projects to do!
9. Jethro off work for 2 days!
10. Nice weather.
    

New Bed Statistics:

Times Katya has been found on top of the bookshelf: 4 (This proved to be dangerous so we moved it.)
Times found half hanging off bed: 2
Times found sleeping under bed: 1
Times found sleeping under Cali's bed with arm wrapped around clothes hamper handle: 1
Times she has climbed out of her bed and onto the floor: 0

I'm sure this numbers will rise the more she sleeps in her bed. At least she hasn't learned to climb out of her bed yet, just fall out.

Cali is Catching up

The first 14 seconds is the best part of this video, but the remaining minute is so cute, I had to post it. Cali learned how to walk behind the Pooh car a couple weeks ago, but she learns stuff so fast, we weren't ready for her to start really walking like this. So, enjoy. 

Wish us luck...

This past weekend we got a small bed for Katya from IKEA. Cali has learned to jump so she was breaking the Pack and Play and needed to move to the crib occupied by Katya. We decided that 2 1/2 was a good age to move Katya into a bed. Yesterday was her first day in it and so far so good. I'm not sure how long that will last though. As of now, she doesn't know that she can get out of her bed and onto the floor. She does know that she can climb on the bookshelf as evidenced in the following picture.

When she's not climbing on the bookshelf she sleeps. Her bed is only 6 inches longer than her crib, but she looks so tiny in it.

I will take her staying in her bed as long as it lasts. It sure is nice to not have the room full of two cribs.

Weekend fun

My cute nieces and nephew were in town this past weekend and I was lucky to be able to watch them on Friday while their parents were at a wedding. We had so much fun together. Katya and Cali loved playing with their cousins and had a blast. We took a walk around the neighborhood and all kids wanted to take turns pushing the girls in the stroller. It was so much fun to hang out with them.

Why am I so excited for this week?

1. 24 days till graduation!!!
2. BYU vs. Utah
3. Almost finished with one Christmas project.
4. Katya sleeping in a big girl bed.
   
5. Cottonwood plays in High School State Championship game!
6. Play-N-Learn
7. Scouts
8. Fun Christmas Projects
9. No school in Provo this week
10. Nice weather.
    

Book Reading Progress

October

I'm a little behind on reporting for October, but I am sad to say I didn't get any books read for the month. I started a few, but it seemed like I never got around to finishing them. Hope fully November will be a little better.

You have to check this out ASAP!

I was reading someone's blog and I found out about this cool deal. It is through Snapfish and you get a free 20 page custom photo book (a $30 value). All you have to do is pay for shipping. I did mine this morning and it only took a couple of hours. You need to act fast though- It expires Friday, November 14, 2008 at 11:59pm PST. You can sign up for Snapfish by Friday night and must redeem it by Sunday night. If you already have a Snapfish account, just check under your account and look at your credits and it should be listed and hit redeem next to it. It's a great deal (I only paid $7 for shipping and handling) for a nice Christmas gift if you are on a tight budget. They have tons of layouts and page desings so there are lots of options.

Here is the link:

http://www2.snapfish.com/info18


If you have any questions, let me know and I'd be happy to help.

Forgotten Pictures

We took our garden completely down on November 1st. I picked a bunch of raspberries that were surprisingly still good and Katya went to town. I think she really liked them.

Why am I so excited for this week?

1. 31 days 'till Jethro graduates!
2. Play-N-Learn
3. Getting projects started and maybe finished.
4. BYU won their last home game.
5. BYU ranked higher than TCU in the BCS.
6. Scouts.
7. Get to see my nieces and nephew this weekend.
8. Cottonwood won their game and my nephew got an interception which he ran for a touchdown!
9. Just bought my favorite game (Ticket To Ride) and can't wait for it to get here so I can play it.

Sometimes I feel like I live in a farm... (Part 11)

The Final Edition

I'm done. Completely done... until next year. I finished all the apples that I had lying around and have put away all my canning stuff and am happy to be done.

I took some of my grape juice and made jelly. I also ended up making 6 jars of Apple Butter and 9 jars of Applesauce.

The finished product of all whole summer of canning- minus a few jars which I couldn't help but dive into. (No, I didn't can the peanut butter or those few other things. I just didn't have anywhere else to put them.) I can't wait to do more next year- probably more tomatoes than anything else.

I found this apple while doing the applesauce. I think it looks like a giraffe. Does anyone else think so or am I just crazy?

We found some shoes!

Cali doesn't wear shoes. She points her feet and scrunches her toes and in 5 seconds kicks whatever shoes she has on straight off. The problem with that is that it is winter. It's cold here and her little feet freeze. I had searched and searched for shoes and nothing seemed to work, until someone told me about Robeez. They sounded perfect, except for the $30 price tag. A little expensive for my taste. I thought all hope of shoes for Cli was lost until someone told me about the knock-off brand at Target- Ministar. Let me just tell you these Ministar shoes a absolutley perfect for a kid with fat feet who stands on her toes and can take all other shoes off in less that 5 seconds.

The Hardest Part of Being a Mother

The hardest part of being a mother is watching your child cry and not going to comfort them because you know what they are doing is going to help them. This is how I felt on Tuesday as I watched Katya at her first day of Play-N-Learn. (Play-N-Learn is a preschool like class through Early Intervention.) She cried for 45 minutes. I just wanted to run in there and pick her up and hold her and tell her it's ok- that's what I get for staying and watching. I know she needs to be around other kids her age and that she needs help beyond what I can give her. Her teachers are very qualified and know how to effectively teach children with all disabilities. I'm grateful that she has the opportunity to go and I know she will learn a lot from it, but it doesn't make it any easier to watch her suffer through her first day. When we got home, all she wanted was for me to hold her and not let her go. Everytime I set her down, she would just cry. It just breaks my heart seeing her so traumatized from the day.

Thankfully her second day was much better. As hard as it was for me to take her again on Thursday, I knew that I had to do it. I can't always be there comforting her and protecting her. She has to learn how to communicate with others and has to learn new things- things she can't learn from me. I didn't stay on Thursday and watch. I knew it would break my heart if I saw her cry. When I came back to pick her up, she was all smiles. She loved it. She seemed so proud of everything she did that day and happy to show me her art project. I'm glad she liked it. Tuesdays and Thursdays are going to be great days.

Sad that it's coming to this...

I was reading a friends blog this morning and found out some interesting news. It's sad that people are taking it on one particular group. I guess that it shows that religious persecution is alive and strong. My friend's husband wrote a great post about the issue. It's pretty sad that the more rights people think they deserve, the more rights they try to take away from others.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

My mom sent me is recipe about a month ago and I've already made it a couple of times. I love pumpkin pie and this is as good if not better. It is so yummy. I'll probable end up making it a lot more this holiday season. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Filling:
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1 (12-ounce) can low-fat evaporated milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

Topping:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
Whipped cream, optional

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish.

2. To prepare crust, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and butter. Using a pastry blender or fork, stir until crumbly. Press into prepared pan and bake 15 minutes, or until partially set.

3. To prepare filling, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, granulated sugar, salt, and spices. Pour over crust and bake 30 minutes.

4. To prepare topping, combine pecans, brown sugar, and butter. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle topping evenly over filling. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until filling is set. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Serve with whipped cream, if desired. Makes 30 squares.

Nutritional facts per serving: 120 calories, 6g fat, 2g protein, 16g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 85mg sodium.

Congratulations Jethro!!!

I'd like to make a shout-out to my wonderful husband, Jethro. He just found out that he passed his Master's Comprehensive exams. He was tested on what he learned 2 years ago (why they test you on the classes you have to take at the beginning of your program I don't know) and after much studying and stress, he did it. I am just so proud of him for all his hard work. Way to go Jethro!!!

Why am I so excited for this week?

1. Only 38 days until Jethro's done at BYU!!
2. Garden is completely torn out!!!
3. Canning is finally done!!! (I think.)
4. Katya starts Play and Learn.
5. BYU won their game on Saturday.
6. Home game this Saturday.
7. Halloween is over.
8. Lots of fun projects to do.
9. Scouts.
10. Cute girls.
    

Thanks Katya

Thank you Katya for being such a wonderful big sister and teaching Cali so much. I am glad that you taught your sister how to take her poopy diaper off and play with/eat it's contents.

What melts my heart...

Halloween Festivities

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween, but I do love dressing the kids up. I think they might like it too. Katya was a mouse and Cali was a pumpkin. Our festivities included heading to the ward trunk-or-treat and stopping by Susan's and Rebekah's.