Shew...Mama's Tired

Wow, what a day.  It's not like we did a lot of extra things, but it was still a tiring day!  This morning was preschool, and we got there late so I got to walk you back to your class.  You wore your pink cheetah footie pajamas since it was pajama day at school, and Miss Brittany said your pajamas were the best.  After class, you stayed a little while behind so you could work on stamping animals on construction paper with Jeff, your OT.  We went home after this and mom had SUCH a hard time deciding whether we would go out to eat, or if we would stay home and eat.  Finally, at 11:30, we went to Pizza Pie Cafe together!  I had a $5 coupon and you were free, so it was a pretty cheap lunch!  It was so fun to go.  There was an older couple in line in front of us and he was talking and saying hi to Grace while his wife was paying.  Grace clicked with them really fast!  Then we got our pizza, and we prayed before we ate :)  You did such a great job eating your pizza all by yourself.  I had to push you away from the table a few times because you kept putting your hand under the tablecloth, and so you were pushed back for 3 minutes each time.  After about 5 times, you understood that if your hands went under the tablecloth, then you would have to lose your chance to eat.  After a while, we both got so full!  Here's what we had:

Pepperoni Pizza (I think 3 pieces between the two of us)

Chicken Alfredo Pizza (2 pieces between the two of us)

Potato Pizza (you, one piece)

Pasta (bowtie and one that I can't say...it looks like little wheels)  This had spicy sausage sauce and red pepper sauce mixed together and it was SO GOOD!  That's the two sauces that Daddy likes to mix together.

Brown sugar and sugar pizza with frosting for dessert.  The pieces we ate were...small!  We were both so full.

Salad for me, and you had: cubed turkey and ham, sliced olives, broccolli (I WAS SO SURPRISED!), goldfish crackers, sliced cheese, and croutons.  

All in all it was a great lunch with mom and daughter.  The couple that I had talked about earlier were getting up to leave and stopped by our table.  He shook Grace's hand and tickled her a bit, and his wife came to ma, put her hand on my shoulder and said, "You are doing so well teaching your daughter."  It was so sweet!  I told her that I try, and then she said, "You teaching her to bless the food, how wonderful."  Then they were leaving after I told them thank you, and he gave Grace a kiss on the back of her hand.  She just loved them so much!  Kept saying "bye bye ga-ma (grandma) gam-pa (grandpa).  They just thought she was so adorable, and I really liked them as well.  

There was also another woman there that really caught Grace's attention.  She was a grandma, with her daughter, and her grand-daughter.  The grandma was obviously special, and grunted continuously all the time.  It really caught Grace's attention, and she kept staring.  After I tried to keep her from watching, I realized that there was no way I was going to stop her, and so I just didn't make a big deal about it.  When the group was leaving, the grandma was grunting as she came towards us (the door was behind us).  She stopped at me, staring as she grunted, and her daughter and granddaughter were trying to usher her on (the daughter was probably 50's and the granddaughter was probably 30's.)  I just looked up, smiled, waved my hand and said, "bye!"  No reason to make the women feel bad or uncomfortable.

After pizza, we rushed home, Grace took a nap, and then we went to therapy.  Kelly, the therapist that usually comes to the house, was there to talk with Sara, the speech therapist, to see what we were working on there.  After 45 minutes there, Kelly met us at Broulims and she and Grace worked on grocery shopping.  Now, I know she's only three and wouldn't be shopping for herself any time soon, but we were really working on staying with the cart, listening to who she was with, and grabbing items that are the same as the pictures on the list.  It was especially fun because the person working with the fried food/chinese food worked with Grace.  I told her Grace would be coming and asking for a potato wedge, and so she was there waiting for Grace.  I didn't hear what Grace said because I was hiding so she wouldn't see me, but I could tell it was cute because the server had the biggest smile on her face while Kelly helped Grace with what to say.  After that I found a sister from the ward and we chatted while Grace was going around with Kelly.  At the end of the shopping experience, Grace got these items in her cart:

Meat spaghetti sauce

Fettuccine noodles 

2 oranges

1 pint of whole milk

Chili with beans

She did so great!  When we went to the checkout stand, I told the woman that Grace was learning how to grocery shop and will give her the debit card even though I know she doesn't slide it on her side.  She was nice and was really cute with Grace, and after I paid, she gave Grace some smarties!  That was a fit because I took them and said, "after dinner."  But on our way out I compromised.  I told Grace, "if you share with Kelly, you can have some right now.  Are you going to share?"  Grace said, "Share 'Telly'."  So we gave Kelly 4, and Grace had two, and then all were happy!

After therapy, we just hung out at home.  Grace played with Skyler and Daddy a lot!  They threw her in the air, twirled her, horse ride for her, and everything else you can think of.  Daddy even did airplane with her!  Held her left arm and left leg and twirled her around!  Crazy Daddy.  Then Kenna came over for a little while while Grace was up because her parents aren't home.  Then Grace was down at 8, and now here I am!

Well, that's all I have for now.  I better get over to my homework and get it done.

Amanda

(Wednesday) Fast Day Today!

I can't believe how fast today went, but it's because I went to the family history center!

Today started out like any other, but I did get up a bit later than normal.  We were up about 9:30 am, and you were such a sweet thing to see this morning!  You had cereal for breakfast today.  3 bowls of it!  I don't usually let you have sugary cereal, but I just had to today.  You had Lucky Charms, but really, you just like to eat the marshmallows in it.  You were sitting next to me eating while I checked out my Facebook and homework.  After this, we played around for a while, and then ran some errands.  You didn't go to bed until about 1:30 pm just because I had gotten you up too late.  I didn't want you to feel like you were in bed the whole day!  I went to the Family History Center to make our family tree more complete, and to find some ancestors and things like that.  I was so consumed with it that I didn't come home until 6 pm!!  You had fun, though.  You played with Daddy and watched your Sesame Street while I was gone.  Daddy had sent me a video of you saying, "hi Mommy.  Where are you?  Come home.  I love you."  It was so sweet!  You and I had leftovers for dinner.  We had some bean soup from yesterday, and some alfredo penne with brocolli.  That was pretty good, but you just weren't too interested in eating!  We had a brownie for dessert!  It was a chocolate brownie with white and brown chocolate chips on it.  You LOVED it!  Well, of course I did as well.  Neither of us could finish it, so it's still sitting in the fridge.  I think that I'm going to eat the rest of it now that I'm thinking about it. :)  You are my sweet pea, but the way!!

It was so cute watching you with Scotty today.  After we got home from our errands, Scotty was playing out front while I was bringing the groceries in.  I called him once, but he didn't come to me, and so you went to the front door and yelled, "Stotty!!!  Tum IN!  NOW!"  It was so darn cute, and he listened, which is a great thing that came of this.  I like that you enjoy helping me with things like this.  Oh, and then you ran around with him for a while while I put the groceries away.  Also, you enjoy putting groceries away.  Last night we had gone to Sams Club in Idaho Falls and whenever I had gotten something off the shelves, you would carry it like such a strong girl to Skyler or Daddy, who would then put it into the cart.  And even when we were just walking around, you were following like a good girl, and didn't grab or pull too many things off the shelf.  I can say that just a few months ago you were touching everything!  But you've gotten so much better.

Today was a nice day.  It was sunny and the snow teased a bit, but it was a sunny day.  It's 12 degrees right now and was probably in the 20's today.  

Tonight I made chicken leg/breasts with a gravy in the crockpot.  It was supposed to be dinner but since I didn't get back from the Family History Center until 6 pm, I made it so that we could eat it tomorrow.  That way, I can use the crock tomorrow for something else!  I'm thinking a bread pudding.  Brad really likes this, and I'm assuming Skyler does to, as will you.

Shew, it's 11:56 pm.  I tried going to bed early last night.  I went to bed at 10:40 pm, and ended up not being able to fall asleep until after 12, and then I was rolling around most of the night.  I woke at 4 am and felt as if I'd slept long enough, but went back to sleep because it was too early.  So then when my alarm went off at 7:30 am, which is when we normally get up, I was SO tired from having woken up at 4!  It messed me all up for sure.  

Today is the day when I found Levi Savage Jr's complete journal.  Levi Savage Jr, who was the co-captain of the Willie Handcart Company, is my 8th cousin, which means he's your 9th cousin.  That means that way down the line, he is a cousin of yours!  

Well, I think that's pretty much it for today.  

I thought I'd list some things that I use during our daily activities so we can look back in the future and see if things have changed.  Here's some:

I use an Ipod to listen to music.  

I use a wonder oven to cook some food.  This has two pillows in it filled with...something like styrofoam, and you boil whatever you are cooking in a pot for about 10 minutes, and then you put it between the two pillows in a tupperware box, and this will cook the food for you.

We use microwaves to cook food.

We have mail still coming in the mail, Monday-Saturday, and our mailbox is one that has a flag on it to put up when we've put something in it.

We have $1,$5,$10,$20,$50,$100, and for change we have: 1,5,10,25,50, and 1 dollar coins.

Our car has a button to push that can unlock, lock, and turn on an alarm.

I use blogspot, facebook, the byu-i homework page, yahoo email, and pinterest.

I use my cell phone as my alarm, and it is a cell phone that you can slide and then there is your keyboard to type with.

Well, that's all for now :)

Amanda/Mommy

Snowy Tuesday!

There was so much snow this morning when we were ready to leave for preschool!  I had to turn the car on early so that the windshield would defrost, and then I tried SO hard to get all the ice out of the wheel wells.  It was so hard in the front left wheel well that I couldn't get it out, so whenever I turned the wheel too much we could hear it "errrrr, errrrr, errrring."  But thankfully, the snow that was frozen on the windows had melted before we had to leave.  It was 23 degrees this morning, so it was super cold!  Grace, you wore your Elmo knitted hat today because it was "Hat Day" at preschool!  This is Dr. Suess week, and so that is how you celebrated!  While we were driving to preschool, we were slipping and sliding every so often, and so I made sure that we drove slow enough that we didn't slip too much.  After I dropped you off I did some homework, and I was surprised to see how much I got done!  I was almost late picking you up, but I'm so happy that your class came out early so that I wasn't the one that was late!  You were so cute!  I watched you through the lobby windows, and you accidentally dropped your backpack, and then took your hat off.  It was so sweet!  You were really excited about leaving, and really wanted to run out the door.  It was hard to keep your attention!  You must have really been excited about all the snow that was outside.  When we got home, I gave you a snack and then got some dinner into the crockpot.  Of course, it's not going to be done in time.  It's a bean soup.  Here's what's in it:

9 bean blend (soaked overnight)

3/4 cup dehydrated hashbrowns (homemade)

handfull of dehydrated onion

1 red bell pepper

your choice of seasonings

1 can of corn

Worchestershire sauce

hot and spicy sauce (about 2 tablespoons)

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 cup of water

So, because this isn't going to work out, I made corn chowder and it's in the wonder oven.  Here's the recipe for that:

1 can of corn 

1 can creamed corn

1/8 t pepper

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2.5 cups of milk

handful of dehydrated carrots (homemade)

1/8 t parsley

So I boiled that for 10 minutes and then stuck it in the wonder oven.  Hopefully it's good when we eat it for dinner!  We'll just have some toast with it, and canned pears (home canned).

Right now, you are in your room with Kelly, your developmental service interventionist.  You are having a tough day today, whining a bit.  But that's okay!  That just means you are working hard.  The house smells like bean soup, and my tummy is rumbling.  We are going to go to Idaho Falls after you are finished working, and other than Sams Club, getting gas, and returning a pot we bought at TJ Maxx, I don't know what else we are going to do there.  I will probably have us eat before we leave in hopes that we don't get hungry down there.

The sun is shining bright now.  No more snow has fallen, and the sun is glistening off the snow.  It's a real beauty!  I am going to try to talk daddy and Skyler into going out back with me to build a mountain of snow so that we can slide down it with the sled!  I know that I've kept trying and trying to keep you inside, but I just can't keep you in forever!  Plus, I really want to sled with you :)  We'll see how big we can get it :)

I love you sweetheart.  Daddy loves you, too.

Amanda 

Monday Already?

It snowed all night last night, so I'm SO glad I had found Scotty when I did!  We didn't do much today.  I made tapioca pudding and got some sauce cooking for lasagna.  

Here's what's in my homemade sauce:

Home canned quart of whole tomatoes, diced

One zucchini, diced

3 large carrots, diced

4 stalks of celery, diced

3 tablespoons of home dehydrated spinach (powder)

1/8th cup flaxseed

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

Spicy Italian seasoning (for homemade spaghetti sauce)

Let it simmer until the veggies are somewhat soft.  Grind until smooth, then add with your ground beef that you've already cooked.

Anyways, I made lasagna.  But I was in a sour mood just because I was really tired.  I'd run lots of errands, this and that...anyways.  I didn't finish making it until about 7:50 pm, so Grace ate and then went right to bed!  She had really rosy cheeks today because something made her excema stir up, so I put some lotion on her face before I put her down.  Oh yeah...

Daddy went in to get Grace out of bed because he was already up going to the restroom anyways.  It was around 9 pm, so not too late.  Anyways, I heard the "uh, oh" and knew she was naked. She came running into my room, in her birthday suit, and I'm happy to report that her bed was DRY!  She got to take a morning bath (which seems to be starting a trend) and I got to be lazy a bit longer!  She's such a smart girly because she'll say "all done" when she wants to get out, and so I tell her, "Ok, pull the drain, and I'll get your towel."  And while I'm going in her room to get the towel, I hear the drain pull and the water draining!  Smart girl!!

We wrote a letter to Me Ma today.  I like to find an article in each months church magazine and send it to her with a little note, so we did that this evening while the lasagna was cooking.  I let her draw on the card and what did she make?  3 smiley faces!!!!!  And you can definitely tell what they are too, which is the greatest thing!  Me Ma (my mom) will definitely love the card!

It's 10:21 pm, the guys are downstairs watching a scary movie, I just finished up some homework and am now writing this while trying to find something that I would like to watch while working on a little bit of family history.  I found that I'm linked to Abraham Lincoln, thanks to a third cousin I didn't know existed!  I am Ab's 1 cousin 6 times removed.  Anyways, I'm just loving family history, so I'm going to go work on that a bit now.  Goodnight!  Preschool in the morning!

Amanda

Sad and then Happy Sunday

We were so sad because Saturday night Scotty had run away and we didn't know where he was.  We went out around 11:45 pm to look and call for him, and then I went inside to stay with Grace.  The guys were out for a while and then came in with a story of police coming.  While they were walking around, a red truck kept following them, here and there and everywhere.  Finally two cops showed up and took down the guys information and said they were called in as a "disturbance."  How silly!  Why didn't the person just roll their window down in the truck and realize they were looking for a dog!  So, that was a horrible night.  Sunday morning was super hard too because he still hadn't come home.  I had let everyone know on my facebook and so people kept asking if we'd found him.  But no, we hadn't.  All through the day at home I kept having the thought I'd go out and look for him, but was so sad and tired that I just laid down once I put Grace to sleep.  When she woke up the nagging feeling that I needed to go out was so strong that Grace and I finally went.  Neither of the guys wanted to go, so it was just me and her.  Our windows were rolled down and Grace and I both called for Scotty, over and over, as we drove 2 mph on each and every rode in our subdivision.  Can you imagine little Grace?  "Stotty?  Stotty...tum heeeerrrreeee!  Stotty!  (Mumble gumble).  NOW!"  It hurt so much to hear that.  I prayed in my head, called to him, then prayed out loud.  Kept driving, kept calling and praying, looking behind us in case he was running after the truck.  We were going down a particular road and I felt the need to look in an empty lot to the right.  I saw what looked like a black and brown rock, but I looked back.  Sometime had caught my eye.  It was HIS eyes!  At this point I'm blubbering like a baby, not caring WHO was around me.  I ran to the edge of the lot and almost climbed over the 2 feet of snow but he had practically flown from where he was sitting at the far back of the lot, wedged between a wall of snow and a chain link fence.  He jumped into my arms, whining and licking and nibbling me over and over.  I was balling and telling him to NEVER run away again.  It was a mess...really!  Now I'm happy there was no one around me.  They might have thought I had gone insane.  But really, how would you feel if your husbands heart and soul had been ripped out because his pup was gone?  He and Scotty are joined at the hip, no joke.  Scotty follows him into the bathroom and sits beside the toilet.  And we take Scotty everywhere.  Even when we go to the movies, he goes in the car and just hangs out in Grace's carseat.  Anyways...back to the story.

So I bring him home and I had collected myself but right when I walked in the door the emotions broke and it all started again.  The two guys came STORMING up the stairs because (what they later told me) because they thought I had found him dead.  Shew...I'm glad I hadn't!!!

Fast forward about an hour.  We went out to go to Walmart because I needed to walk, be warm, and see humans all at the same time.  We drove by where I found him and I walked back to the fence.  He had paced about 20 feet back and forth along the fence until the wall of snow was about his height, and then I walked to the right and found where he had dug down about 3 inches more into the frozen dirt.  That's where he slept.  Thanks to Heavenly Father the chain link had the plastic slates, in it, but not only that, there was a thick bunch of brush right where he slept, so the wind was kept off of him.  He has a cut on his nose and I'm only assuming its from digging in the freezing dirt, in the freezing dead of night, trying to get as deep into the ground and as close to the fence as possible.  

That silly dog.  I hope he never does that again.  Ever.  He slept with us that night :)  I had told Heavenly Father...well, pleaded...that if he brought Scotty home I'd NEVER be mean (raise my voice, scold when he sleeps on my pillow, begs at the table, chases the cat), to him AGAIN!  So, I'm going to keep that promise.  

Thanks be to Heavenly Father for bringing our pup home.  We missed him dearly, and are happy to have him back.

Amanda

A WHOLE WEEK!

I can't believe it's been a whole week since I've written!  I am so sad that I've missed out on 7 whole days of writing about the fun things we did!  I'll try to write it out here, but I'm probably going to miss a lot of things that we did.

Sunday:  You went to Sunbeams today.  You got to see Janica there, so you were pretty happy with that.  She had been teaching the lesson and so you ran up to her and she held you while she finished.  After church you had a nap and while you napped I made dinner since the whole Miskin family was coming over.  They came over for dinner and it was really good.  It was sausage with gravy mixed with seasonings, dried spinach, flaxseed, corn, carrots, zucchini and celery.  You REALLY liked the sausage, and so I just kept right on feeding it to you.  It's healthy!  Then you went downstairs with the kids and played and watched them play the Wii while the adults stayed upstairs and played catchphrase.  Bedtime came and then you were out like a light!

Monday:  You had therapy today.  There wasn't much that went on besides therapy, but after that we all drove down to Idaho Falls to go to the museum.  It was a free day because it was their 10th anniversary.  It was extremely busy and you were pretty upset that you couldn't touch any of the models.  The theme was "Carousels" and so there were so many different animals that we saw there!  You would keep screaming in excitement and pointing out one after the other!  It was so cute!  After that we went to Chinese Buffet.  We all really love that restaurant, and you ate a ton of food.  But we could tell you were really tired because you were acting way hyper.  We got home around 7 and I put you to bed around 7:30.  You, once again, were out like a light!  I wish I could have flooded the journal with pictures, but a lot of them were just the items there, and not with family in them.

 Daddy and Grace next to the pig carousel.

 I thought these ones were beautiful, but what I liked the best is that she pulled me over to her so we could pose!

 Daddy and Grace.  The geese's wings go up and down and the feet look like they are walking when it's moving.  But they didn't let it move.  See that guard rope?  Well, Grace had reached over and touched one of the geese and a woman that worked there bolted over and pulled her hand away from it, bent down and told her no.  Now, I was okay with this.  But then for her to hover, and rock towards Grace when Grace pretended like she was going to touch it again was overboard.  She was like a shadow.  I could see her out of the corner of my eye, and she was staring Grace down.  But, I bit my lip, and we moved on.  I understand that these things are really old and that, no, she shouldn't have touched.  Next time, though, back off and trust that I know how to parent!

The family that went :)  Most of the pictures with Skyler in them have him doing goofy faces, like the one above!

Last but not least, Grace riding the pretend horse!  She actually kicked it to try and get it to go.  How cute!

Tuesday:  You had preschool this morning and I could tell you had a lot of fun.  You didn't want to leave and so I had to make you stay in my arms.  But after we got in the car you were fine.  You mumble jumbled back there while we drove home, and once we got home, you had a snack.  We played together for a while until you went down for a nap and then I got on the computer and did as much homework as I could.  At 3 your therapist Kelly came, and so you had fun playing with her in your room!  The rest of the day was pretty normal.  We wandered around the house, played with your toys, watched Elmo, and piddle diddled until it was once again bedtime.

Wednesday:  I can't remember much of this day, but I do know it is one of the days that you don't have anything going on, so it was probably pretty boring.  It's so tough that the snow is here because we NEVER take you outside, and so we get stir crazy in the house.  If you wouldn't get sick so easily we would probably take you out more, but I'm just too worried about you getting sick.

Thursday:  You had school in the morning, and when you came to the lobby, you smashed your face against the glass and made some REALLY funny faces at me!  Then you dropped your backpack on the floor and refused to pick it up, so your teacher had to pick it up for you!  Silly girl :)  Then we came home and played, had a quick lunch, then you had to go down for nap.  But you didn't nap very long...you were more interested in jumping up and down in bed.  So when I went in to wake you up after your 20 minute nap, you weren't really happy.  But you had fun at therapy, and then we met Kelly at the library and she worked with you there.  A change of scenery was nice and for the most part, you did pretty well.  After that the evening went by quickly.  I don't really know why, I just know it did!

Friday:  Wasn't too exciting.  Same as it was on Wednesday, really.

Look how much snow there is!!  That's Scotty's track from the dog house and back.

 Here's Grace!  She was watching Daddy out back shoveling the snow.

And then here she is modeling the snow!  It doesn't normally fly into the front door, so this was funny to see!

And today, it's Saturday.  The snow was coming down in buckets and buckets, and so we haven't even left the house at all!  In the morning you played in your room really nicely by yourself for about 40 minutes, which gave me time to not only get dinner in the crock pot but to also make breakfast and lunch!  We had oatmeal for breakfast and we ate together while I finished reading an amish book about how to put their values of family into your own life.  I thought it was such an interesting book, and loved reading about how focused they are on family.  After that you played a bit with daddy and Skyler while I cleaned the kitchen and made lunch.  We had cheeseburgers but you were not having ANY of it.  You were so tired!!  And now it's 2:45 and I heard you mumble a sentence in your bed.  I don't know if you fell back asleep or not, though.  Once you wake up we will probably play with some of your horses, read some books, go to the kitchen to taste the soup to see if its good (Chicken noodle with TONS of veggies), and then vacuum the living room.  You'd thrown your crackers on the ground and then stomped on them.  Oh and we'll finish the laundry, and then you can help me sort it all!  If there's time, we will watch another Elmo (even though you already watched one) or we will do some sort of art project.  I guess it really depends on how hyper you are.  I am having a craving for ice cream but I will try to be good :)  I think we will also throw in some freezer organizing, too.  OH!!!  Brother Ryan went on a date!!!!  This is his first one ever!  He had gone to a dance with Cousin Boyd and Brother Ryan and had an awesome time!  He danced with this girl, Maryn (?) for 2 whole hours!  We finally talked him into calling her today and he did.  He invited her to the movies and she was so excited that he had called.  So I'll report on how that went later.  23 years old and going on his first date in his life.  Wow...

That's it for now!  I'm going to go check the soup :)

Amanda

Mariah!

Grace got to play with her friend (therapist) Mariah ALL DAY TODAY!!  Brad and I went to Kelly Canyon to ski again, and shew, was it a day.  My first time on a black diamond run...or two.  Now I'm super exhausted, sore, and ready for bed.  Grace had an awesome day and was such a good girl.  Granted, she didn't take a nap all day...but that's ok.  She was still a great little one.  Ate a really good breakfast and lunch, played really hard, and listened very well.  And Brother Skyler and Mariah really liked visiting with each other, and hung out with each other while Grace played.  

All in all, a good day.  Shew...I'm tired...

Amanda

Valentine's Day!

Hi Grace!!!

Today was such a good day!  You had your Valentine's Day party at preschool today and it was obvious you had so much fun.  You also came home with a bag full of goodies, a heart that you decorated with sticker hearts, and a Valentine's Day HAT!  

 Hi Everyone!  Looking so serious.

But then you bring out the treats and the smiles come out!!!  These are for her classmates and teachers.

I helped Grace write her name on each one of them, and we started a few days early since she didn't have enough attention to do more than 2-3.

Since I had her pose with the Krispies I had to give her one!

Then we had some play time, nap time, therapy time.  At therapy you took rice krispie treats to the secretary and your therapists, and they were so happy.  You had a hard time giving it to Sarah, your speech therapist, because you didn't want to give your snack away!!

Tonight was really nice, too!  Skyler took us out to dinner for Valentine's Day!  That was so sweet :)  We went to Pizza Pie Cafe and they had a sugar cookie pizza.  I didn't have any, though, because I was so full.  You had TWO PIECES OF PIZZA!!

After we got home, you went to bed and then we read scriptures..me, daddy and brother Skyler.  I'm so happy that he is here, and so are you.  He had a great experience with reading his scriptures, and I am so happy that he is changing his life and being happy again.

Love you Grace, 

Amanda

You Little Stinker

I can't believe you haven't fallen to sleep yet!  It's 2:34 pm and I put you down to nap at 12:30!!  Well, you are going to be one tired girl, aren't you?  Your play therapist will be here so soon and you are still in your room jumping and giggling in your crib.  I have been busy cleaning house while you are in there playing.  It's fun to hear you in there being so silly, but I do wish you'd get your sleep!

Today you went to preschool and had a great time!  And on Thursday, you get to have a Valentine's Day party with your class!!  We bought little Rice Crispie treats that are in pink packages, and they have a spot where you got to write your name on it.  I can't wait until you get to give them to all your little friends.  And you will get treats back in return :)

Yesterday there wasn't much that went on.  We just played at home and you didn't take much of a nap then, either.  You did well in therapy even though you didn't have much of a nap either.  After therapy we didn't do much either.  I really wish you would be able to play outside but I just don't want you to get sick.  You get sick so easy that I want you to be as healthy as can be.

The weather has been so pretty the last few days, but today we got to try to catch some really fluffy snowflakes with our tongues while we walked out of the school.  You are so cute :)

Amanda

Sunny Sunday

It was a pretty day today but we still don't go outside to play.  I'm just too worried about Miss Grace getting sick since it happens so easily.  Plus, her preschool is having a Valentine's Day party this week and I don't want her to miss out!!  Church went well today.  She is doing so well in Sunbeams.  I just can't believe she's growing up so fast.  Sometimes I look at her and I see my baby, but then there are those times that I have to take a second look because it just DIDN'T look like my little girl the first time I looked.  This evening while I was trying to take a nap on the floor she kept sitting on my pack and bouncing up and down because she wanted me to play horse.  And then she came over and laid her head on my pillow.  She snuggled up really close until our noses were touching, and then she put her arm over my shoulder and patted my back.  I have such a sweetie. :)

Love you bunches Grace.

Amanda

Not Much

Not much happened today to report about.  It was Friday, nothing exciting.  We just hung out at home.  I just worry about taking you outside because I don't want you to get sick!  So now it's 9:37 pm and you are still awake so I'm going to go get you and feed you because I think you are hungry.

Love you sweetie!

Mommy

What a Busy Week

Gosh, I've been horrible at keeping up with this darn blog!  School, therapy, preschool, cooking, cleaning...oh, excuses and excuses.

Tuesday:

Tuesday you had preschool and had a great time!  When we were walking out you told me you had crackers and juice for snack.  It took a lot to get it out of you!!  And you are going to have a Valentine's Day Party!!!  I am so excited for you!  You love hanging out with your brother.  Skyler lives with us now, and you love saying, "Hi Sty-yer!"

Wednesday:

You didn't have any therapy or school today, so we hung out at home.  We totally reorganized your room and switched your toys out.  You had such a great time searching through your boxes of toys and seeing everything that you forgot you had!  I tried you out in your toddler bed...but...that was NOT a good idea!  I went in there one time and you had pulled out the bottom drawer of your chest of drawers and the clothes...were...EVERYWHERE!!!  I stood there staring at you and you high tailed it SO FAST to your bed, climbed in, pulled the cover over yourself and laid down.  So I turned your bed around and you are back to a crib.  That's ok, though.  I like you in the crib because then you stay right there and don't get out and play instead of sleeping.  In the evening we went to Idaho Falls to go walk around the mall, and then we all got hungry so we went to Evergreen Chinese Restaurant.  Then home to bed for you, and I did an online discussion for one of my classes.

Thursday:

Today was busy, but I like busy!  You had preschool this morning and had such a great day again!!  You wore your super cute sheep hat with the ears and your sheep mittens.  I think this was the best day of preschool ever because when we got in the car and started driving home, you started singing the ABC'S!!!!!!!!!  The letters were all out of order and sometimes I couldn't even understand then, but you were doing it!  I would sing some, and then you'd sing the following, and then I'd sing more, and so on.  When I sang "W, X" you went "Y, Z."  I couldn't believe it!!  I clapped and cheered for you as we were driving down the road.  I probably looked so silly, but I don't even care.  You and I have sang that song over and over today.  Right now it's 4:41 pm, and you are in your room with Kelly, your play therapist.  And then I will make dinner while you are playing.  And then we will color coffee filters for the flowers that go on the Valentine's Day cards!!!  And then we will play some more, and then you will have a bath, go to bed, and I'll do another online discussion.  Love you bunches baby!

Amanda

Saturday and Sunday

Gosh the two days went by so fast!  To tell you the truth, I can't really remember what we did!  Oh, that's right!  The guys were in Montnaa on Saturday until the evening dealing with some family stuff, so Grace and I got to hang out together!  Then on Sunday the three of us went to church and Skyler went to church with Ryan.  After that we had our family friends come over for dinner, and their kids watched the Superbowl with Skyler while the rest of us visited upstairs.  This weekend definitely went by so fast!  Already Monday and back to homework I go!  So far we've made it to the computer.  I'm typing this up while Grace is sitting next to me watching Sid the Science Kid!  Today I will definitely be doing a lot of homework so that it doesn't drag on through the week, and I'm really hoping to get some more skiing in.  I just wish Grace's feet were big enough to wear the boots for kid skiis because I would SO take her up with me!  I would have so much fun trying to teach her to ski.  But I'm thinking that she is a bit too developmentally behind to figure out how to move and keep her body the right way.  So I'll wait for next year!!

Well, Happy Monday!

Amanda

Ski Day...Play Day

We both had such a great day!  Grace got to go to a friends house to play while I went skiing, and we both had a great time!

 Skiing was pretty good. The powder made it hard on some of the runs...I did NOT like that! Of course I did fall quite a few times, but if I don't fall, I'm not learning. All but the "skier's lane" which is for beginners, I took intermediate runs. Tried out moguls too, but it was SO hard to see each of them with the thick fog. I couldn't see more than 5 feet ahead of me! My first run I went almost to the top and took a side run but got lost! I went the wrong way on the run and ended up in 6 in deep powder...but then I tried to hike out of it back to the run and ended up in thigh high snow. So, a bit of panic there. Can you imagine it? Thick fog, surrounded with trees, and it super deep powder. No worries though :) I made it out alive. All in all I had a great time, learned how to catch some edge more than I have before, LOVE the speed, and had so much FUN!

 

Grace was so sad to leave her friends house.  I'm glad she felt that way though because that meant she had fun there.  When we got home we had pizza, juice and a short movie.  Then she and I enjoyed a bubble bath in our swim suits in "Daddy's Tub" (jacuzzi).  It felt SO good on my super sore muscles.  

 

Anyways, a wonderful day, and early to bed for sure :)

 

Amanda