A Day In The Life (of a child)

Most every morning when the kids wake up, Ty asks them, "So what are you going to do today? Play all day?" Followed by a comment by one of us along the lines of, "Wouldn't that be the life - to play all day with not much of a care or worry in the world"?

Our bundled up little boy - on his way out the door to play in the snow (and to usually eat a handful of it before I catch him).

The kids had a blast playing in their empty diaper boxes a couple days ago (we sure do go through a lot of those things around here). Cash got to push Vanna around and Vanna got the ride of her life. Their laughs became contagious. We were all having a good time.

As is pretty typical, I think, Cash loves to DUMP the sprinkles on his cookies rather than SPRINKLE them. Then, as you might suspect, he eats only the sprinkles and icing off the cookies before declaring, "I done Mom!"

Vanna is becoming a little more independent and is entertained by her toys more and more. Although she usually likes Cash's toys even better. She's diligent in pestering Cash for whatever toy he has in his hands.

Cash likes to voice his opinion in regard to what pajamas he wants to wear each night. A few nights ago it was his socks - over his one piece p.j. outfit - and his camo shirt over his p.j.s as well.

Although, I'm glad it can be that way for the kids. There's plenty they will worry about when they get older. Don't they look happy?!

Cash: just over 2 1/2 yrs. old; Vanna: 8 1/2 months old

On The Mend/Move!

I thought I'd better give an update on our sicknesses. We are finally feeling better (after 3 weeks of sickness I'm ready to be done)!

Ty: currently 100% healthy!

Erica: has a little cough and now a cold sore the size of a mountain on her top lip (nothing more humbling, I suppose:)) but other than that, feeling great!

Cash: has a bit of a runny nose still but seems completely over all other symptoms of illness!

Vanna: three days after I took Vanna into the Dr. for her 9 mo. check up I decided to take her back in because her fever had never broken and she seemed to be doing worse. At that appointment we found that she had a double ear infection - poor girl! These were her first infections and she wasn't tolerating them well - I wouldn't either I'm sure. A day and a half after beginning her anti-biotics though, she was back to her happy, sweet self. We are so relieved!

Vanna has felt so good she has started working on her crawling again and watch out - because here she comes! She is really getting around. It seems that Vanna's eyes have been opened to a whole new world as she explores places/things she couldn't before. She is a much more content and happy little girl now that she can move forward and get to where she wants to go.

OOOOOOO - you just got to love her!

We've Been Sick!

Yes, it's true. Usually we are pretty lucky to be a healthy little bunch and I thought maybe we'd skid through the winter without sickness. But regardless of all my efforts to keep a clean house, wash hands, etc. to protect my kids from picking up any illnesses - it happened. Isn't that always the way?!

For about a week and a half we've all taken our turns: first Cash threw up in his bed during the night however, he was fine after that; then a couple days later, Ty got the stomach flu and was "down and out" for a couple days; then Vanna got a cold; next I got a migraine that made me sick so I was uncapable of doing all the regular motherly duties around the house (luckily Ty had work off that day and helped out huge); then another cold came around for poor Vanna that keeps persisting - she currently has a nasty nose, cough and fever; also, a couple days ago Cash came down with the stomach flu/diahrea which thankfully he's over now but now has a cough and cold similar to Vanna's. Yikes! I'll tell you what - I'm tired of cloroxing everything, wiping noses, changing diapers/blowouts, laundry, etc.

But...if you minus all the above out - we're doing really good!!! We're busy and happy. What more could you ask for, right?

Monday, we went to the Dr. for Vanna's 9 mo. check-up. Yep. My baby is already 9 months old! She's doing really well. Although, she hasn't had much of an appetite because of her colds so her weight isn't where I'd like it to be. When she was 6 mo. she weighed 15 lbs. 2 oz. and now she only weighs 15 lbs. 10 oz. So that tells me she's lost weight from being sick. We can't wait to see our little girl back to her usual self. She's getting more active all the time(which I know also contributes to her thinning out and her weight): she scoots herself backwards and get herself to the sitting position again after being in the crawling position and scooting. We're working on her moving forward and her awkward, a bit uncoordinated movements are adorable. Once I figure out how to post a video I'll have to do it for all to see.

I didn't figure you'd want to see picture that fit any of the above descriptions so I decided to just throw in a couple of my favorites!

Whenever we get into the car, Cash always requests a pair of sunglasses. He touches his eyes like the sun is hurting them and says, "Gas, my eyes". Translation: Glasses for my eyes. He loves our glasses so much I don't think he'd accept a kid pair of his own. Hey-there's an excuse for me to get some new sunglasses!

Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful...Vanna! (Name that movie, except it's Cole, not Vanna:))

New Year's Resolutions

Usually I write up several Resolutions and (as Ty would say) set expectations for myself perhaps too high so this year I have decided on one New Year's Resolution (although it actually emcompasses a couple all in one-tricky me).

I have always been a person that enjoys structure and organization (learned of course from my dear mother). I remember at the beginning of each school year we'd create and write down our own daily routines so we knew who was getting up when, when family scripture study would work best, etc. This became really helpful especially by high school age when I was so busy. Anyway, I've always had a daily routine - my kids typically get their meals at the same time every day, they take naps at the same time every day, and they go to bed at the same time most every day - but the routine isn't always written down. My New Year's Resolution is to write a daily routine (which I've actually already done) and stick to the daily routine I've created for myself because it will allow me to do so much more with my time. For example, by carefully planning my day I've provided myself with time to: 1)exercise (this is where my other mini-resolutions come in) - which I haven't done since I had Vanna (I know, shame on me); 2)have school time with Cash - my friend Cami sets a particular time of every day aside to teach her kids things similar to that they'd learn in pre-school and I think that would be brilliant for Cash; and 3)have personal scripture study/recreational reading time. Those three things are all things I've desparetly needed and wanted to do for a long time. Hopefully with the new Resolution I can pull it off. Wish me luck!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, my other resolution: to get Cash potty trained. I'm not looking forward to the process but definitely looking forward to the end result. Anyone have any pointers - I'm all ears!