Our Spring FUN

So the last week has been pretty busy, but really fun! On Sunday we went to my parent's stake center (which is actually closer than our stake center) to watch the Stake Conference Broadcast. Beth refused to sit through more than 20 minutes at a time, so it ended up being a really stressful morning for me. She's been relatively good through 1 hour of sacrament meeting, but 2 hours of a broadcast, is not her cup of tea. Unless the broadcast is of Word World. 

We spent Easter with my family and Beth really enjoyed searching for "Balls" out in Gran Dawnie and Papa's yard. We bought really cute Noah's Ark Easter eggs and I think the adults had more fun looking at the animals than Beth did. It was a really great time.

 After Beth had found all the eggs she started trying to re-hide them on the hose. They kept rolling down and so it was pretty funny to watch.

 Our Family, April 2011.

After the Easter egg hunt the weather was so great that we decided to play with some bubbles. Beth LOVES bubbles. So she had a great time! She might try to eat them, but she rarely succeeds. Papa was showing her how to catch bubbles in a cup, she was quite impressed.

Andrew and I started our Childbirth Refresher Class last week. It was a two night course, so we had the second night yesterday. Since the class was put on at St. Luke's I was unsure if it would focus on any natural birthing ideas, or just hospital protocol. I've definitely changed my expectations of labor this time, so I didn't want to hear things like "It's never easy, just get an epidural" Or "C-sections really aren't that bad".  But, we were happily surprised when our class was taught by a wonderful Doula. She was sweet, and very knowledgeable about handling pain/discomfort in labor and delivery. Her theory is that if you can trust in your body and use different coping techniques you can either go without pain medication entirely, or delay it for a few centimeters. We really enjoyed the class and came out knowing a lot more about the basics of natural birthing. 

During the class our instructor gave the dads the opportunity to wear a "sympathy belly"...It consisted of a tight band around the ribs (to make breathing uncomfortable), about 35 pounds in breast and belly weight, and a "bladder weight" that pushed on their bladder from the inside of the outfit. Andrew, feeling up to the challenge, decided to try it. He wore it for almost 2 hours. I was impressed. I wasn't feeling too great at the class, so in an attempt to lighten the mood, Andrew let me take these pictures.

He'll probably get laughed at by his friends and especially his brothers, but I think it was a nice gesture. I love that man. He always makes an effort to brighten my day. He is working hard and doing really well in school, but he always has time for his girls.

This week we also got around to finding a new Dentist (Dr. Scott Grant), and went and got exams and x-rays done. In high school Andrew had 1 wisdom tooth removed, and it was a terrible experience. So we have been putting off removing the others for awhile.  After looking at the x-rays, we saw that the one wisdom tooth, out of the three left, that he really needed removed was a difficult one. Dr. Grant said that he would not feel comfortable performing the surgery using his sedation, which is conscious sedation. Meaning that Andrew would still be partially awake (and able to swing a fist or two if he was in pain, ha ha ha). So he referred us to an Oral Surgeon. We had a consultation with them yesterday and he said that he could do the surgery, although it will be very complicated. His tooth is coming in sideways, next to a nerve, and pushing on the roots of his molar. So when they bid the amount to have the tooth removed it states "Removal of impacted tooth of usual difficulty"...it kinda made us laugh. We scheduled the removal for a month out. We wanted to have it done before the baby comes, because we'll have NO time after wards. So, I'm hoping the surgery will go well.

We have also started the fun process of house hunting. Although I love our apartment and the area we are in, we are starting to outgrow the space. We aren't in any hurry, so right now we are just looking around to see whats out there. We are working with a phenomenal Realtor and Lender, so the experience has been pretty smooth so far. We are hoping to move sometime this summer or fall depending on how the process goes.   

We have about 8 weeks left till this baby makes her debut, and we can't wait to meet her. I'm also counting down the weeks till my sister arrives, which is about 6 weeks away. We will have a very busy summer coming up with a new baby, summer school for Andrew, a visit from Jana and Jake, a visit from Sam and Jayme Lee, an Aldrich Family vacation, and possibly moving! It's exciting what life has in store for all of us! I hope everyone is doing well and is as excited for this summer as I am!

Happy Blogging!

Homemade Pizza!

So, Andrew typically works evenings, which means I never make dinners. I make something little for Beth and something else for me. But I don't have to worry about home cooked dinners for Andrew. This has been good and bad. I miss having family dinner time where we can make and enjoy food together. So, we've been trying to take advantage of lunch time a few times a week to have family time.

Today, it was homemade pizza day. I. Love. Pizza. It's easy, it's filling, and it's fun! We buy the dough from Winco (the package is enough dough for our little family). We buy all the toppings for it, and make 2 little pizzas. I LOVE stuffed crust pizza, where as Andrew loathes it, and prefers thin crust. So, we can each make a pizza that works for us. 

Beth was working over her dough, while Andrew was tossing his dough pizzeria style!

Beth was enjoying some Olives off her fingers!

This is the finished product!! It was my beautiful stuffed crust pizza! A complete meal with a virgin margarita! We loved spending time making food as a family, it's good, clean, entertainment. Well, assuming Beth doesn't get a hold of any sauce, which she didn't. This time.

We registered Andrew for his Summer and Fall semesters today, and luckily we were able to get most of the classes he needed. He even registered for a self study walking course. It's a course that has you set and achieve health goals through walking. I think that course will be more for me, seeing as it will start around the time Amielia is 6 weeks old. He will be taking a few online courses too, which is nice since he's working 6 days a week most weeks. He is such a great student! I'm very proud of him.

Well, last week I hit the 30 WEEK MARK! We are now counting down the weeks using single digits! We are taking our Childbirth Refresher Course the next 2 weeks, and we have about 30 pages left to read in our HypnoBirthing Manual. Last night when we were reading it, Andrew said "Honey, we need to highlight this section." It made me very happy! Andrew has been nervous about labor and delivery since our 1st experience was completely different than we expected. He hates to see me in pain and not have a way to "fix" it. So it's been a good experience for us to talk about what we want to do different and how he can help me during this labor and delivery.

Sorry it's blurry, cell phone camera!

We are getting more excited as we get closer to meeting our little girl. We've been trying to teach Beth to call the baby "Ami" or "Amielia" but she insists that the baby's name is "shhhhh"....Andrew thinks that's because "Shhhh" is what the mom's on the bus say to the babies who are crying. I guess she's just practicing. Beth has also found a new place to play....in Amielia's crib. I'm hoping that by the time we put Ami in the crib (3-6 months old) Beth will have either grown out of this, or she'll be more cautious around the baby. Fingers. Crossed.

Beth was supposed to be taking a nap......

Beth is getting bigger and smarter every day. Today when I gave her a hot dog and rice for dinner she picked up a piece of the hot dog and asked me quizzically "Doggy??" I couldn't help but laugh. I reassured her they are all beef hot dogs, no doggies, but the name still confuses her. She now asks for "Help" when she can't do something. She loves her letters and tries to point them out on everything. Right now the only letters that believes exists are "O, I, E, S, H and B." I guess that's a good start though.

Well this is the fun we've had the past week! I hope every one is doing well!

Happy Blogging!

A Walk to Beautiful

So this week I really wanted to write about something besides ME. My blog is entitled "A Little of This & A Little of That"....And I'm thinking you are getting more THIS, than THAT these days. So, while pondering what I wanted to write about, I thought about the last week and something that touched me. 

About 2 months ago I came across a Movie/Documentary on Netflix called "A Walk to Beautiful"....the description said: "In Ethiopia, a country with few hospitals and even fewer roads that lead to them, three women are on a journey to rebuild their lives after suffering devastating losses in childbirth." I thought it was interesting, so I added it to my instant queue to remind myself to watch it. I finally did this last week.

If you would like to watch the movie, prior to reading the rest of this entry, you can do so on netflix.com, and I know that PBS has been showing it as well. (Interesting side note, I started watching this on netflix, and had to stop 1/2 way through when Beth woke up from her nap and demanded my attention. The next day I came home and Andrew was watching it on PBS. He was further into the movie, so he turned it off so it wouldn't confuse me. We ended up turning the TV on the next day, and it was just starting on PBS again, so we watched it together).

In this amazing documentary it follows a few women in Ethiopia who have lost their babies during child birth. One of the most devastating occurrences in this country is when a woman labors for days, sometimes even 10 days. And due to her inability to birth the baby, the baby dies in her womb. The reason for the long labors and inability to birth is two fold. First, in this and many other countries women are expected to do large amounts of manual labor. Starting at the age of 2, they carry water and gather food. And as they age, their loads grow in size and weight. This causes young women to not grow to the proper size, sometimes still falling inches short of 5 feet tall at 18-21 years old. And it stunts the growth and width of their bones, specifically their pelvis. So, when they go into labor a baby often times cannot make it past their pelvis. The second reason is that when babies are in an unfavorable position for birth (breech, transverse, ect) there is little to no medical intervention in these countries, especially in remote areas. So, women labor for days until they are able to go to a hospital or a doctor is able to come to them. By that time, most babies and even some women have not survived the labor. 

This was heart breaking for me to hear. I can not imagine the pain that these women go through. After losing a baby, women in these countries are often ostracized. Because they have not fulfilled their role as a wife or mother. They have failed to bring a healthy baby into the world, and will no longer be seen as a member of the family or group in which they live. 

It seems as though there could be nothing worse in life. Unfortunately for these women, there is. Most women who suffer through a long labor and survive will find that not only have they lost their babies, their families, and respect. But they have lost something else. The ability to control their bladder and sometimes even their bowels. Due to the long labor and constant pressure of contractions, blood flow is restricted to tissues in the bladder and rectal area. After this trauma, the tissue will die, and a hole is left. It is called an Obstetric Fistula. It is defined as: "A hole that forms between the vagina and the bladder or rectum during prolonged, obstructed labor. This horrific injury leaves victims incontinent. Some develop nerve damage in the feet and legs."

They are shunned even more because of this condition. People make fun of them because they smell of urine. These women often live with the condition for years. Sometimes waiting over a decade, or never getting it fixed. One of the women said she was waiting for death. Until her friend told her about a Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa. Women will travel for days to get to this hospital to get treatment. The co-founder of this hospital, Dr.Catherine Hamlin, an OB/GYN, came to Ethiopia over 50 years ago with her husband Dr. Reginald  Hamlin. They decided to open the Fistula Hospital in 1974 after seeing women with this issue turned away from regular hospitals due mostly to their hygiene and lack of income. This hospital does AMAZING work for these women. 

My favorite woman in the movie is Wubete. She is a 17 year old who was raised by her father. At the age of 10 she was forced to get married. She ran away from her husband after a few days. When she returned to her home her father beat her. This happened a total of three times, until after marrying husband #4, she found out she was pregnant. She stayed with her husband until she lost her baby and developed a fistula. He sent her away as "damaged goods". She felt she could not return to her village, so she went to the hospital. She had her fistula repaired after 2 treatments, but still returned to the hospital due to incontinence. The doctors determined that this was due to her entire bladder being damaged during labor. After tests they found a temporary solution until she was able to regain her bladder control through practice.

After this solution was found she explained to the staff that she could NOT go back to her village. There was no place for her. She eventually found an orphanage where she could work and call home. The beautiful part of this story was that she was given the responsibility of 4 beautiful children to call her own. They were told that Wubete was their new mother. And she was finally able to start to live the life she had envisioned. Being a mother. 

Now, why is this all important to you and I? I know there are devastating events that occur through out the world every day. But this one touches me the most. It is so wonderful what the Fistula Hospital is doing in Ethiopia. Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of this issue:

• For every woman who dies from pregnancy-related complications, 20 women survive but experience terrible injuries and disabilities.

• In Ethiopia, there are 59 OB/GYNs and 1,000 midwives for a population of 77 million.

• One woman dies from pregnancy-related complications every minute worldwide; 95% of them live in Africa and Asia.

• More than 99% of The Fistula Hospital patients are illiterate. (The hospital teaches all patients the Amharic Fideles and the Oromiyffa alphabets.)

• Number of patients treated at the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital every year: 1,200

• Number of obstetric fistula cases occurring in Ethiopia alone each year: 9,000

• Number of new obstetric fistula cases resulting from childbirth occurring worldwide each year: 100,000

• Number of new obstetric fistula cases resulting from childbirth occurring in the U.S. each year: 0

• The year the last U.S. hospital treating fistula patients closed its doors: 1895.

This doesn't just occur in Africa, it also occurs in countries like India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nepal. The documentary website states that: "It is estimated that there are 100,000 new cases each year, but the international capacity to treat obstetric fistula is limited to only 6,500 per year."

I am SO grateful that I live in a country where medical interventions are available. I am so grateful that my family and friends will love me no matter what happens. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who looks after women everywhere, and will bless them. I hope that more women can find out about this wonderful treatment and that the international capacity to treat will be greater because of this wonderful documentary. If you want to know more about the documentary please visit http://www.walktobeautiful.com/.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Happy Blogging.

                                                                                                                                                           

Love You Forever

So, I've been spending A LOT of time thinking, talking and writing about our plans for my pregnancy, labor/delivery and our new baby. Tonight it hit me that although we have a new baby on the way, I have a "baby" right now in my home. Bethani is a super energetic toddler, who rarely slows down and always surprises me with words and expressions. She is getting smarter EVERY day and it amazes me. Tonight before bed she stood looking at her window calling for "Da-ddy" for about 20 minutes. I went in and told her Daddy was at work. And then she asked for Pa-pa (my dad) for another few minutes, before I convinced her that he was not here, and it was time for bed. I was rather discouraged since she doesn't ask for Mama or Mommy. But my discouragement was short lived.
 

As I picked her up off the window seat to put her in bed, she grabbed my head (mostly by my hair) and proceeded to give me 3 kisses. One on each cheek and one on my forehead. Andrew started this ritual about 2 months ago, and she LOVES doing it with daddy every day. And sometimes Andrew will get her to give me kisses, but this time she would not let go of my hair or let me put her down till she repeated the ritual twice. I felt pretty special. I laid her down and said goodnight. I went on with my nightly tasks, dishes, browsing the internet, laundry, etc. And before I went to bed, I went in and scooped Beth out of her bed and rocked with her. Around 10 months she stopped being a cuddly baby, and at the time I had mixed feelings about the independence. Recently I've tried to take advantage of the time she'll just sit with me and cuddle. And sometimes I have to do it while she's asleep. Because that's the only time she's not running around like crazy. 

By now you may have figured out my post title. While I was rocking her I had a brief memory go through my mind. Something about a mother sneaking into her child's room to rock them after they fell asleep. It took me a little bit to pin it down. But then I remembered this book. I haven't even thought of it since I had Beth. Honestly, I probably haven't read it since Jr. High, when I read it to the kids I baby sat. But I remembered the story. The book is called "Love you Forever." It tells a story about a mother who sneaks into her son's room to rock him and sing to him. And the book ends with the grown son going into his mother's house to hold his elderly mom. The song in the story means so much more now to me that I am a mom.

“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
as long as I’m living
my baby you’ll be.” 

I'd replace "as long as I'm living" with "and for all Eternity"

“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
and for all Eternity
my baby you’ll be.”  

When I found the book website online (http://robertmunsch.com/love-you-forever/#)....I read the background as to how this book came to be. The Author and his wife had 2 babies who were still born. So he had this song in his mind. Reminding himself that as long as he is living they will be his babies. He eventually decided to write a children's book out of the song. After publishing it, his publisher was surprised that the book was selling like crazy to retirement communities. And then they realized it wasn't a book for children, it was a book for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. 

I am SO grateful for my family. For it being eternal. I'm grateful for my parents who taught me about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I wouldn't be able to have my eternal family without this knowledge. And I'm grateful for my siblings. I was blessed with a wonderful sister and amazing brother. And I now have parents-in-law, sisters-in-law, and brothers-in-law. I am grateful for my family, immediate and extended, near and far, young and old. 

And at the end of the night, I am grateful for my husband, who teaches our daughter to love, so that when mommy is discouraged she can give me the 3 kisses.   

Beth....a few days old and still a cuddly "baby"

The last two pictures (sorry they are kinda fuzzy, cell phone camera) are of my crazy 21 month old doing what she does best, being silly. After Andrew came home from refereeing spring ball with my dad "papa," Beth put on Andrew's cleats and started playing with his flags. It was cute. In the other picture....Beth saw me folding her swim suit and wanted to put it on, so I let her wear it over her clothes. When she wanted to go outside and play in the rocks she INSISTED on leaving it on....Well OK! I did convince her to take it off before we went to the park.

Sometimes I have to remind myself how lucky I am to have a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter, and another on the way. And Although most days are long, and the nights are rough, this life is worth it. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Happy Blogging!

The Oregon Coast and Other Fun Stuff!

Hello!

You know you are a "blogger" when you want to make sure and take pictures of certain things to put on the blog...OR when you are going to be out of town on your normal "update the blog day" and your husband says "Honey, you better let everyone know we'll be gone, but you'll post an update as soon as we get home!!!"...:-) It makes me laugh. Obviously you all aren't just sitting at your computers waiting for me to update my blog. Really. But for those of you that are interested in our adventures....here you go!

So, Friday we spent the day packing, getting the car ready and relaxing. We put Beth to bed around 8, and packed the car. We have a system. Under NO circumstance is Andrew allowed to organize the car. I have been taught the art of packing a car for a trip and this is my responsibility :-). So Andrew brings the bags outside and I pack the car. It went well and we went inside to watch some TV before bed. I wasn't looking forward to waking up at 5:30am....but I knew it would be better than sleeping in and traveling late into the day.

So we woke up early, got Beth up, who was SO happy to be awake and playing at 6:30am. We got in the car and off we went. 9 hours in the car went by fast, and Andrew drove the whole way so I could sit in the back and play with Beth. Our car has a folding function on the front passenger seat, so I can fold it all the way down and put snacks, books, or my feet on the seat. It makes it so that I can play with Beth and Andrew doesn't feel all alone in the front of the car.

So after a lunch stop, and surprisingly only 1 rest stop for the pregnant lady, we got to Lincoln City. The weather was nice and after a quick round of settling in, we went to the beach. We had beach access right out side our condo.

So, after some outside adventures we got some pizza and settled in for a few fun days! The condo we were renting had 1 master bedroom w/ bathroom, a pull out sofa sleeper in the living room and a 2nd bathroom. It was NICE! So we decided to put Beth and the clothes and bags in the bedroom and Andrew and I would sleep in the living room. Close to the ocean, and we could stay up and watch movies without interrupting Beth. So we set everything up and the first night there was good!

The view from our condo. A.Maz.Ing.

The next day we decided to do some sight-seeing. We visited the outlet malls and ate lunch at a yummy place called Black Fish Cafe. I bought cute "Big Sister" and "Little Sister" outfits on clearance at Carters, and Andrew found an awesome Under Armor sweatshirt for $20. It was a good day.

Monday we woke up excited because it was TILLAMOOK CHEESE FACTORY DAY! Yum. I love their cheese curds, and their fresh Marion berry Pie ice cream. Beth loved the cow statues at the factory and we stopped at a look out point to take a family picture by the ocean.

After the cheese factory we got back to the condo and Beth was being a TYRANT. She was mad that we would not let her climb from the recliner to the counter to get into food. So after many attempts to distract her Andrew opted to put her in timeout in the pack in play in her room. We figured some quiet time would do her good and her nap wasn't too far off anyways. So we were both surprised to see Beth waltz out of the bedroom about 30 seconds later, very pleased with herself....And then we both realized what she learned.

 Yep. She figured out how to effortlessly climb out of the pack and play. Now, we don't use a pack and play at home, but on vacation or if we are visiting grandparents and she needs a nap, we will use one. I was amazed at how easy it was for her to reach her leg up and climb out. I'm guessing she would have figured it out much earlier if we used a pack and play on a regular basis, since she is a HUGE climber. So, after this we decided it was safer to sleep in the same room as Beth for the last two nights, as this room wasn't our normal toddler proofed room. The first night was rough but eventually she got tired enough and STAYED in her bed. Whew.

Tuesday was our last full day at the coast, and we decided to go to the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. It was a rainy day, but luckily most of the exhibits are inside or under awnings. Beth loved seeing the "Doggies" everywhere, and we eventually convinced her they were "Fish" and she was ok calling them that. We were there during the Seal/Sea Lion feeding time, which was fun to watch and Beth had a really good time.

Beth's favorite activity on the coast was walking along the beach, picking up rocks, and then throwing them back in the ocean. She had a little bucket she carried around to collect the rocks, and it was TONS of fun for her.

We enjoyed having family time during this much needed vacation. Andrew works 40 hours a week, and goes to school full time as well. So it's rare to have him home all day to play with. We went swimming in the community pool, and played games as a family. Beth loved taking baths and Andrew loved seeing how long it would take Beth to get the pile of bubbles off her head during bath time.

*Kisses* Although Andrew teases Beth non-stop, she loves him!

All in all, our Oregon vacation was wonderful. The scenery is gorgeous, and we always had something fun to do. The drive home was a little rougher, but Beth was a champ and used her many talents to entertain us. We are happy to be home, even if our non-vacation life is CRAZY. :-)

As for other things going on, I just hit the 28 week mark in my pregnancy. Which means I am officially in the LAST trimester! Yay! I've recently found my appetite again, and so this last month was the first month in my pregnancy that I was above starting weight! With both pregnancies I've lost weight and then gotten back to starting weight around 22-24 weeks.

I had my 28 week appt today, and did the glucose test. I know most people are horrified by it, but it's never been a big deal to me. My appt today though was EXTRA good because I had the opportunity to talk to my nurse about Natural Labor and Delivery Options. I know I've been talking about this for a few posts now, and if it doesn't interest you, feel free to skip this part :-) BUT, in doing research I found a Sample Birth Plan on St. Luke's website. I was surprised to find this on their website, as people don't typically think of hospitals as "Natural Birthing" friendly. But they recommended that all moms have one and go through it with their doctor.

After downloading the Sample, I read over it to edit it to our preferences. The Sample was VERY strict, and a lot of what it had on it was "We DON'T want"....I felt a very negative vibe from it, and so we changed it to be more positive, and include things we do want. In doing this I realized I had a TON of questions for my nurse and doctor. So I asked all of my questions during my appt today and was happy to hear "YES, absolutely, that should be no problem, and we recommend it!"

My nurse (who was a L&D nurse for 10+ years prior to entering a prenatal practice) said that all of the hypnobirths she has seen were very effective and an amazing experience. Now, I know what you are thinking. Hypnobirth? What the........But the program we are doing (Birthing Through Hypnosis by Kristin Nemzer) is less "You are falling into a deep sleep" and more of "Allow your body to relax". I never practiced any coping techniques with Beth, so I had nothing to fall back on when things got tough. But I am really excited to use this program to achieve a happier, more relaxed, natural birth. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against epidurals, pitocin, even c-sections. I think they have their proper time and place. I just figure if we can birth naturally without these things, it will be a better experience for all involved. So we've been reading the manual for the course and I listen to the audio tracks from the program often. They help me relax after a long day and even help me sleep better.

I talked to my nurse about a few things that I was unsure about. I was group B strep positive with Beth, meaning it was recommended that I have IV antibiotics prior to delivery. So I checked with my doctor and found out that he will treat me as GBS + with every pregnancy, because I have had prior history. This is ok with me. I'd rather have the antibiotics just in case, since I've had 2 group b strep tests in 2 years come back positive. BUT, my nurse did say that there is NO reason I have to stay on the IV after the antibiotics. I can request to have the IV disconnected, and just keep the "Hep Lock" in case of emergency. YAY! This way I can move around without toting a IV pole the whole time.

I also found out that they are cool with pushing in other positions than on your back. St. Luke's has "Squat" bars that can be installed in every bed, and they use them often for natural delivery! Another thing I was unsure about is induction. I am keeping this option open mostly because I would love to have my sister here for this birth. So if I go to my due date, I may consider an induction so I can have this baby before she leaves. I know there are A LOT of ways to self induce, and I will save you those descriptions. BUT, I found out today that my doctor may be able to do an ALL NATURAL induction instead of using pitocin! It's done using a Foley Catheter. It is inserted and dilates your cervix using pressure instead of medicine.

I love hearing about all the "Natural Options" I have. Preparing for this pregnancy has been so different this time around. I know that labors never go exactly as you plan them, but I figure the more preparation we can do, the better off we will be. Anyway, sorry to bore you all with my pregnancy ramblings. It's a whole new world for us.

I hope every one is doing well!

Happy Blogging!

Please....Itsy Bitsy....MMM, MMM....Shh, Shh, Shh

I know, I know, the titles of my posts are always so weird. But it pretty much sums up what has been going on in our house. For the last 10 months Beth has signed the word "please." It's super cute, and funny when she repeatedly signs please while we figure out what she wants. I have mixed feelings about teaching kids sign language. I was taught sign language at age 5, after my spoken language was well developed. Recently teaching babies sign language has been popular. And although it's great for early communication, if you aren't careful it can inhibit their desire to actually voice their words. So, we have been asking Beth to "say please" for a few weeks now. And she finally gets it. Now when she wants something she usually says "Pweeze" while still signing.

When we are getting ready to leave the house I usually ask Beth to get her socks and shoes. Sometimes she comes out of her room with just one or the other, and I didn't realize she was having difficulty figuring out how to carry socks AND shoes. A few days ago she finally figured it out and I found her sitting on the couch just waiting for me.

I recently realized that Beth LOVES to sing and be sung to. I hadn't sung a lot of traditional children's songs to her, and so I was surprised when she picked up quickly on most of them. She sings a few of them in nursery, which I think helps her retain the songs and motions. She LOVES to do Itsy, Bitsy Spider. She does all of the actions and asks me to sing it over and over. Her next favorite is 5 Little Speckled Frogs. And when we get to the part where I sing "Eating the most delicious bugs" she chimes in "MMM, MMM" (Yum, Yum). This one she picked up fast, but usually gets bored after Frog 5 & 4 leaves the speckled log. We also like to sing the wheels on the bus. She does the actions to the beginning, but only wants to hear about the "Mother's on the Bus say Shh, shh, shh"....If you try to sing another part first, she will say "shh, shh, shh" until you sing the right part. It's cute, and usually entertains her if she's trying to get into trouble, or being cranky.

"Wheels" on the bus

Shh, shh, shh

Thanks for singing with me Daddy!

Speaking of trying to entertain her while she's cranky....she has 3 new teeth that came in this week. And they've been giving her grief! A few nights ago she woke up hysterical about 4-5 times, and it wasn't until the morning that I saw the little teeth poking through. I felt SO bad for her. Word to the wise, don't try to put Orajel in a toddler's mouth without their consent. They. Will. Bite. Hard. Along with this she has a cough and runny nose, so we've been using the humidifier in her room every night to help her sleep. What is surprising to me is the first few teeth she got were not nearly so dramatic for her. She would be upset for a few hours, and then have no issues. But as she has gotten older, it has gotten MUCH worse. Really, how many teeth do they need? The ones she has work just fine, go ahead and ask my red sore finger.

Because of her getting up multiple times a night sometimes she ends up watching tv or cuddling with us late at night until she calms down enough to go back to sleep. On Saturday night Andrew had some friends over to play games, and Beth was very excited to see my brother Eric (Uncle Rico). She ran straight to him and wanted to sit by him, play the game with him, and feed him popcorn. She was sad when he left to go home, but it was late and everyone needed sleep.

In other news, I have finally bought a new vacuum cleaner. When we first got married we lived in an apartment with wood floors. So we had a small wood floor vacuum and broom. Worked just fine. When we moved into another apartment about a year later, we purchased a cheap dirt devil vacuum. It was purple. And it was horrid. In trying to save it from the dumpster, I tried to buy new filters. Not a single store in Boise or Meridian carried them. I had to order them on Amazon. And even with the new filters, it was still very bad. Last week I accidentally sucked up a sock, which is impressive because that vacuum had NO suction. I guess Vacuums don't like socks, and I ended up burning out the belt. I was so tired of that vacuum, so Andrew and I discussed a new vacuum.

First I thought I wanted a Dyson. I know. Everyone's dream, including the credit card company. Because they cost $400-$600!!!! I just couldn't spend that much on a vacuum. So, we thought we had our minds made up, on a good old Bissell. And then my sister Bo said I should look at a Shark. I was reluctant, as was Andrew. But we looked it up. I already have Shark Steam Mop and I love it. But I just didn't know a lot about their vacuums. Anyway, after reading very good reviews we went with a Shark Navigator (it's purple too :-)). It's GUARANTEED to NOT lose suction. Sweet. Regularly priced $180. Bed Bath and Beyond (our FAV place) had it online for $150, and the local store manager said they would match the online price. PLUS we had a 20% off coupon. So we got it for a little over $120. And I LOVE it. I vacuum almost daily. Our carpet looks and feels cleaner and I couldn't be happier. Take that Dyson.

 We had quite an adventure this morning watching all the fire trucks on our street. An apartment behind us caught on fire and was spreading to the attic quickly. So, what seemed like every fire truck in Boise was called to the scene. We heard a few sirens and decided to go outside and take a look. Beth was intrigued by the big trucks and lights, and we stayed out there for about 20 minutes.

Right outside our front door

Our road was blocked off, and the fire hydrant next to our apartment was hooked up and used to supply water to the hoses. Luckily, no one was injured in the fire, but it will take a lot of clean up to make the apartment(s) livable again.

It's been a crazy week. I enjoyed going to the Relief Society Birthday Dinner. It had delicious food, and a wonderful spirit. We also had fun at the Ward Stew cook out, minus Beth spilling stew down my now very apparent baby belly. We enjoy the time we get to spend as a family since Andrew has such a crazy work and school schedule. We are counting down the days till we get to leave for Lincoln City, Oregon! We are very excited and we will have lots to post next week when we return! I hope every one has a great week!

Happy Blogging!