Happy New Year

In preparing for our annual fondue party I came across a really easy and really tasty cheese fondue recipe. If you are into fondue, try this one:

"Easy Cheese Fondue"

2 cups milk
1 tbsp worcester sause
2 tsp ground dry mustard
1 clove garlic (crushed)
3 tbsp flour

6 cups cheddar cheese (schredded)

Medium pan, low heat.
Mix all but cheese.
Heat until almost boiling.
Gradually stir in the cheese.
Heat until all cheese is melted.
Transfer to fondue dish.

Right Now I'm: Totally whacked out

Right now:

• Wayne's been out of town since Sunday
• Lexie is grumpy
• Seth is wiggly and likes to roll in his crib (and not sleep)
• My chronic insomnia has been getting worse and worse for months and is finally at full force. 8 hours of sleep total... in the last 3 nights
• The house is a mess (ok, but how is this any different)
• Feeling like I'm sucking at my calling right now because my brain isn't functioning well enough to organize and get stuff done
• We're out of baby food.

So, solutions:

• Wayne gets home late on Friday
• We're going to see friends today, so Lexie should cheer up
• I don't know, a baby sized straight jacket?
• Pills. I think it's time for pills. Maybe I can go to the doctor next week...
• Cleaning service! And why don't I clean when I'm not sleeping? Huh, didn't think about that till now...
• Got to sit down and sort my brain together on this one. Lists. I need lists.
• This one's easy. We can go to the store!

Ok, so... off to problem solve....

Goodbye, Phantom Planet

I read yesterday that the band Phantom Planet is breaking up (http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0614338/). You probably haven't heard of them, but I'm sure you know their biggest hit (hint: it's the song you're listening to RIGHT NOW). But I remember them from a time long before that famous song. Back in '99, my friend Rachel and I saw the movie Rushmore and fell completely in love with it. We then found out that the star of the movie was the drummer in a band, and that band was Phantom Planet. They were pretty small back then, so it took some research to find a record store that had their cd. When we finally bought it, Rachel and I were head over heels for the band. I remember listening to that cd over and over and over... I don't know, looking back, there wasn't anything all that special to them, but for some reason I really dug their sound. And now that they're ending their run, it's nice to have a little reminder of that small portion of my life. So thanks, boys, for filling my ears for a time.

I am the laziest person there could be, For I only wrote one paragraph. But I asked Jacques what I should put in place of this, he said just leave it (oh, and one more thing)...

My Trip to the ER!

Until yesterday, I'd never been treated in the ER before. That having changed, I have to say, the ER is not as cool and glamorous as on that show, you know, ER. There was no drama, not once did I see a nurse and a doctor making out in the lounge, and Noah Wyle was no where to be found. Just a little disappointing.

Tuesday morning I woke up at 2am to the sound of Seth crying. Once awake, I started feeling a little nausious, but figured it was nothing. By 4am, it was quite clear that it was not 'nothing'. I started throwing up every 2 minutes or so non-stop. A little after 7, Wayne's mom came to watch the kids and Lexie off to school, and Wayne took me to the hospital, since Instacare was not open. This part, I don't remember a whole lot of. A couple of things I do recall:
*They did not have a restroom in the ER waiting room. Huh? This just seemed odd. I had to throw up the second we got there, so Wayne lead me to the bathroom in the lab's waiting room, and I recall the looks on the faces of the people waiting there. Based on their reactions, I must have looked really bad. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and I was pretty darn white.
*American Fork ER is not up and hopping on a Tuesday morning. There was no wait, and there was only one other patient being treated. I was completely out of it, so I didn't see anyone's faces, but it seemed from the voices that I heard that I had several nurses. Then again, I was pretty out of it, so it could have been the same person over and over...
*I wish they had warmer blankets. I was FREEZING the entire time, even with tow of their blankets on. I just couldn't stop shaking. Of course, that could have been because I was so sick.

So, basically I was just really really sick. My blood pressure was really low, and I was dehydrated. They gave me an IV with some anti-nausea medicine, two bags of saline, and morphine, which was awesome.

Thankfully I'm feeling a lot better today. It was a weird, crazy experience, and I'm glad it's over. Hopefully this will be my one and only experience with the ER. And hopefully this will be my last experience with the stomach flu for a long time.

'Primary Helper' and generally just a "Good Girl"

Lexie has turned into sort of an awesome kid. I've mentioned that lately she's been sort of clingy, and that is true. In fact, at this very moment she's clinging on my arm watching me type. While sometimes her constant contact with some part of my body can be inconvenient, it's really nice to get numerous hugs and kisses and cuddles from a child who I thought for some time didn't even like me. It seems like Lexie is turning a corner and changing from "Tremendous Terror" into "Good Girl". She's helpful, she's loving, and she's even starting to become (gasp!) somewhat patient! She's even starting to play with her brother on the odd occation, which is a step up from seeming to wish he was never born. She's been actually enjoying and participating in her therapy, and as a result she can say the following "words":
Mommy (sometimes)
Daddy (sometimes)
SpongeBob (always)
Up
On
Off
Help
More
Meow
Woof
Moo
Oink
Hop hop
Up, up, up!
Rar
Beep beep
Tweet
That One
I Want It
Uh oh
Nay
Baa
Grandpa (apa)
Grandma (ama)
Swish Swish
Ssssssssss
... and a bunch more I can't think of right now. A lot of them are onomonopias (noises associated with a object or action), but that's the start.
Lexie is also becoming my little Primary Helper. I've had a lot to do these last two weeks, and it became impossible to wait until after her bedtime to get everything done. I'm finding that she can be a good little helper, once she is shown the papers she can touch and those she cannot, the piles she can play with and the ones she cannot, and expecially when I can find a small task for her to actually physically help me with. She LOVES that. Sometimes it means tasks take just a bit longer than if I did them myself, but it's worth it for her to get the feeling of accomplishment and being needed. Besides, with her right by my side I can turn my chore into Lexie Therapy time.
All in all, Lexie has been a good little Penguin (a new little thing we have going).

Cryin' It Out

For two nights, Seth has been... SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE! Can you tell I'm excited? This kid, while the easiest baby when awake, is the worst sleeper! Recently his 10-20 times getting up a night (seriously!) combines with my chronic insomnia, has pushed me to my limits. As hard as it was, we finally decided to let him 'cry it out' on Saturday night. So he cried. And cried. And cried. It seemed like days, or at the very least hours. In reality it was about 35 minutes. But then he fell asleep! He woke up at 4am that morning and wiggled his way down to the end of the crib. I got up and repositioned him, wrapped him and stuck the bunky in, and he was alseep again within 10-15 minutes, no real crying. Take all that and repeat it for last night, 4am thing and all. Kind of weird, but I'll take it. The whole 'crying' thing sort of sucks, but the whole 'sleeping' thing is WAY worth it.

Be careful what you wish for... : )

Two weeks ago, our ward split, and it couldn't have come a moment sooner. Since we moved in over almost a year and a half ago, it was ready to burst with members. What took them so long to make the change, I'll never know, but either way I'm just grateful to be in a new ward, even though we had to leave some great people behind. We are now in the Spring Creek Ward, and we get to meet in the building right behind our house. Woot Woot! But back to two weeks ago: the ward split, and I thought that maybe it would be my opportunity to finally get a callings, since it'd been years since I'd had one. Like many young women, my dream calling would be Young Womens (like my wordplay?), but with my responsibilities with Lexie, I knew that at this time that would not be the calling for me, since I couldn't possibly give the calling the time it would need without my children suffering. So I started praying. For a week, every night in my prayers I asked Heavenly Father for a calling that would be a good fit for me, one I would both enjoy and grow from, and one that I would have enough time to fulfill. As the week neared an end, I started wondering what calling I might receive. It occured to me that if I was called to something "small", like a commitee member, or to be the person in charge of putting away the hymn books after relief society, I may feel disappointed, but apparently that would be all Heavenly Father felt I could fit in my schedule, and I should trust His judgement. It then also occured to me that if I were called to something "huge" and time-consuming, I may feel overwhelmed, but I specifically asked for a calling that would fit in my life and allow me to give Lexie the time and attention she needs, and I would have to have faith that He knows what I can handle better than I do. Heavenly Father chose the latter.

A week ago I was called to be the Secretary in the Primary presidency. In a new building. In a brand new ward. With no teachers. And no supplies. Oh, and a primary of over 150 kids.

Sometimes I wonder if Heavenly Father has me mixed up with another "Lizzie", because He seems to have an overly high standard for what I can handle. That being said, I'm loving my calling! It's been a crazy week. It was literally a week ago when the presidency was called, and that was it. But the Bishopric asked us to have Primary up and running by the NEXT week, and may I remind you we had no teachers, no music people, no supplies, no nursery toys, no classroom assignments, and once again the little complication of 150+ children to consider. Needless to say, there was a lot to accomplish in a short period of time, but we did it! I'm personally impressed with myself considering I knew NOTHING about what it takes to run Primary, or what a Primary Secretary even does, added to the fact that the week was a perfect storm of inconvenience. Lexie has been excessively clingy (thankfully in a very lovey dovey way), Seth is teething and wants only to be held, and I had an all day AG Bell conference on Saturday, all of which limited my available working time. But our awesome President knew what she was doing, crossed her 't's and dotted our 'i's, and planned out every possible disaster. Primary ran nearly perfectly today, which has me excited for what we can do in the future with even more time and planning. Our ward is going to rock! And I'm honestly in love with being the Secretary. Sharing Time is way more fun that Sunday School and Relief Society. No offense, but we have songs and games. You just can't beat that. And the kids in our ward are great. I spent the two hours trying not to crack up at the things they would say.

So here's to the future. I'm sure there will be countless more posts on this subject. If anyone has any ideas or tips, those of you with more experience than me, please please please pass them my way. I want our Primary to be the coolest Primary ever, and we all know that's not coming from me (without any assistance, that it).

Happy Voting!

"Eating Ivars. Life is good."

That was the text I sent to Wayne as I sat in the Seatac airport a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I'm lame, and it's taken me two weeks to post about my awesome weekend trip to the hometown. My sister Sam got married in Hawaii in September (as you all know from the posts), and she had a reception in Seattle on Oct 19th. Since Seth is free on an airplane, he came along with me, so Wayne had a little Daddy-Daughter weekend in Utah.

Seattle was awesome! I wish we could have stayed longer, because with the reception being the main event, I didn't get to do a lot of the big "Seattle" things I would have like to, but I just loved being around trees and that northwest vibe. The touristy things will have to happen next trip, whenever that happens, but I was completely satisfied with just being around the cities I love and miss. Here's some shots from the car as we drove, just sort of reminders of what home feels like:


The first day we were there, we went shopping at a cool outdoor mall in the University district. Seth was a super trouper for several hours of walking and shopping, and at the end he enjoyed hanging out with Grandpa, picking up chicks as they walked by (literally. He was a major babe magnet). Here's the cuteness that got him so much attention from the ladies:


While we were there, my parents took me to an student housing building right next to the mall where we lived when I was born. It was really neat to connect to that piece of my past (and to know I was born a stone's throw away from awesome shopping. Score!). Here's the apartment we lived in, and a shot looking up into the trees outside.


As beautiful as the wedding and reception in Hawaii were, the Seattle reception gave them a run for their money. Ok, so there wasn't a breathtaking sunset across the ocean in the backround, but there was a "Mama's for Obama" rally in the park across the street! It was fun to see some old ward friends, the cake was amazing, the music was awesome (especially the live music performed by Sam and Rob's talent friend. I'll find out his myspace page and post it here. He really was great), and it was just overall a great time. Extra thanks to my aunt Cherie who held Seth the entire time. He was a happy clam sleeping on her, despite all the noise. I'll let the picture speak for themselves:


Even though it was short, it was a great trip. Being a single mommy for three days was kind of tough, but it let my try out my Super Mommy tricks. I can now say that I am an expert at sanitarily using a public restroom while carrying a baby in a Baby Bjorn. I also managed to get through security with the baby, twice, with just a little help from a flight attendant behind me in line in Salt Lake. I also managed to get my gear onto the parking van, off the parking van, and over to my parked car all by myself. I'm talking two rolling suitcases, a carseat, a diaperbag, a handbag, a winter coat, and Seth in carrier. That's right, I rock. It was tough, but totally worth it to be able to have such a fun little trip (and bring back a ton of hand-me-down clothes for Lexie). Can't wait to go back. I heart Seattle!

Winterized!

This blog has officially been winterized! Like the new colors? I love the blog backrounds from leeloublogs.blogspot.com, they're all so cute. I'm so glad they put out the same pattern with a different color palete, because I'm all about keeping up with the seasons, but I love the argoyle!

Some of Lexie's Favorite Things

I was realizing that when I blog about Seth, it's about all the cool things he can do, what he likes, how cute he is, etc, but when I blog about Lexie, it's usually about her hearing or speech, and never really about her as a person. So, for those friends and family who never get to see her, I'm going to start writing things about her personailty when I think of them.

Lexie loves cartoons, and I'm a bad mom and let her watch more than she should. One that she really likes is Phineas and Ferb. Here's some clips that she loves. The first one is a song we like to dance to. We have a lot of fun when this episode comes on, and it's hilarious to watch Lexie try to imitate the dance moves (and I'm sure I look goofy as well):



This one Lexie likes because A)She loves Perry the Platypus, and B)she likes when they run towards each other in slow motion, and we have to act it together when we see it:

In her cinematic debut...

Ok, so I finally found a link to the Zombie movie I was in last summer. And in the spirit of laughing at one's self, I'm going to share it. My singing is awful, my "dancing" is even worse (and it's not exactly complex choreography, if you could even call it that. Just planned movements, I guess), but the bright side is that I'm only in the first half and barely in even that, so I only look stupid for a few moments. So enjoy this addition to the "things to make fun of Lizzie for" file:

http://listenup.org/screeningroom/index.php?view=da0617a7b241027256f1d128a5b7551c

We're Famous!

We've been meaning to get a sign in our neighborhood for a while, but we didn't know how to go about it, so it got put off for a bit. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, Wayne called the city, who transfered him around until he finally talked to the right person, and the paperwork was started. Yesterday, our signs were put up. Cool! I don't know why I'm so excited about this, but I am. For one thing, it'll be a lot safer (hopefully) for Lexie to play out front, since she's still not good at listening for cars. Plus, I just think it's neat that there's a street sign dedicated to us. I guess it's one of the "pros" of having a deaf child. Everyone faces different challenges with their children, but not everyone can have the city honor it. You never see "Boy With Difficulty In Algebra Area" or "Watch For Child With Attitude Problem" signs. But we get one! Two, in fact (Hope you don't mind it on the edge of your yard, Ron and Sarah). That's pretty special.

Bundled Up

Seth and I attempted to take our morning walk today, but it was so flippin' cold! None of the girls I usually walk with came out, and I don't blame them. We made it 1 1/2 laps of our usual 3, and my ears so frozen I had to come in. But lucky Seth, he got to be all bundled up, and he was as happy as a clam. Isn't he cute?

Germs, Cereal, Snow, The Big Clean, and Splittin' Up!

It's been a while and there's a lot to cover, so we're going to do this BULLET STYLE! Woo!


* Germs: (The picture really has nothing to do with this, except that Lexie has been a bit of a little Devil. I just thought it was cute, and fitting for her usual personality) Lexie and Wayne have been sick. While Lexie is quite the handful on her sick bed, Wayne is maybe even worse (we all know men, they're just big babies - wink wink). He stayed home from work Thursday AND Friday, which if you know Wayne means he was practically on his death bed, because he HATES missing work. It's been an exhausting weekend for everyone in the house. As hard as it has been for me to play nurse, I know it's even harder to feel so crummy. Thankfully everyone is on the upward slope towards full cold and flu recovery. We all get flu shots on Wednesday, so hopefully this will be the last sick-weekend for a while.


* Cereal: Seth is now eating rice cereal. He loves the stuff, which kind of makes it hard to feed him, since he tries to grab the spoon and pull it in on his own. Hopefully this will help him sleep better, since right now he's still getting up around 12 and around 5. Yuck.

* Snow: We woke up to our first snow of the season on Sunday morning. Woo! Lexie was mezmorized. She stood at the window of her playroom taking in the winter wonderland for a good 10 minutes straight. Thankfully it all melted by the time we got out of church. It's a bit too early to be that cold, in my opinion. But it was great to get the grass watered for free. Thanks Mother Nature!

* The Big Clean: Having EVERYONE home 24 hours a day and sick from Thursday through Sunday, our place was a mess! And it seemed everytime I tried to clean up I could only chip away at the monster before a new mess emerged. So finally by Sunday I'd had it, and after dinner I shipped Wayne and the kids off the Grandma and Grandpa's house so I could clean in peace. I worked nonstop for 2 1/2 hours, picking up, folding laundry, doing dishes, etc, and I still didn't finish everything! I got the main areas done, but there's still a pile of papers in the office to file, the toyroom needs to be picked up, and there are several junk drawers/closets to be organized. How did we end up living in such a pigsty?

* Splittin' Up: That's right, it's official - we're splitting. No, not Wayne and I (seriously, you think he could ever find someone more awesome than me? No way he'd chance it, I rock! :) ), THE WARD! YAY! While I'm really sad to lose some great people, I'm so excited to finally have a ward that's a managable size. We spend every sunday in the very back of the GYM, then stay in the gym for Sunday School, and then, because our RS is so big, I spend the last hour in, you guessed it, THE GYM. It's hard to hear, impossible to get a group discussion going, and it just sucks. Plus, the rumors are going around that now we'll be able to go to the church building that's RIGHT behind our house instead of ironically passing it every Sunday to drive to a church 7 minutes away. I may finally be able to walk to church like I always dreamed about when I moved here from Seattle (where our building was 20 minutes away). They made the announcement of the split on Sunday, and the boundries and details will be announced this Sunday at ward conference, and then the week after that it's walking time! Time to get my boots...

Fall Field Trip

On Friday I accompanied Lexie on her first school field trip! Her class combined with the older Preschool class and went up to South Fork in Provo Canyon to enjoy the fall leaves. Lexie was so excited to ride on a big yellow school bus and shout "Woo Hoo!" with the other kids. We sang a leaf song, raked leaves and then jumped in them, chased Leaves in a stick, and looked for squirrells. Unfortunately we didn't find any, which was too bad for them because the kids were equipt with bags of squirrell food. We threw some out for them anyway. It was a lot of fun. Here are the pics:

4 months Old

Seth turned the big 4 m-o. He is 26 1/4" long (90th Percentile) and weighs 14 lbs 9 oz (40th Percentile).

He likes:
* His Frog
* His Cow
* Flipping Over
* His Sister
* Morning Walks
* Pink Medicine
* Talking

He dislikes:
* Tummy Time
* Poopy Diapers
* Lexie Crying
* Loud Noises

Hawaiian pictures!

Here's a slideshow from the Rehearsal Dinner, the wedding, and some random family shots. Enjoy:

A week of Firsts

Seth accomplished two things this last week: 1. He learned to roll over! He can now roll over from his back to his stomach, but not the other way around. He HATES being on his stomach, but apparantly he just can't help himself from trying out this new trick, so he's constantly rolling over, then flailling around on his tummy, crying out for help, until I come over and rescue him. Wait 20 seconds, and repeat.

2. Seth got his first ear infection. Or infections, I should say, both ears. The poor little guy has been kind of miserable. Add in the constant unwanted tummy time and desperate flailling, it's been a tough week for the kid.

Tagged

Heidi tagged me, and I finally got access to her blog, so here it is, better late than never:

6 quirks about me:

1. I have a phobia about cutting my fingernails. I'm afraid that if I cut them too short, I'll cut the skin that connects my nails to my fingers. Therefore, I never let anyone else cut my fingernails, and when I cut them myself I always leave them really long.
2. If you tell me "don't smile", I automatically smile, every time. It's not a happy smile, it has nothing to do with emotion, it's simply that my mouth has no choice but to respond to the voice command. Wayne thinks he's so cool, like he's magic because he can make me smile, but I just remind him every time "[biggrin] it's not like it's some major accomplishment, anyone can do it[/biggrin]".
3. With a few exceptions, I must eat foods seperately. I do not eat casseroles. I'll eat salad, but no two types of food will be on my fork at the same time. Example: I'll eat a piece of lettuce, then a carrot, but not a forkfull of lettuce and carrot. Same with eating a stew. One bite with potatoes, one bite with meat, one bite with corn, etc.
4. When I'm falling asleep, I write episodes of tv shows I watch in my head. Sometimes it's just something I think would be fun to see, like "Gee, it'd be so funny if on The Office they did...". Those I don't usually remember. More often I do it for shows with continuous storylines, usually the one I saw the night before, like Heroes or Prison Break. I think I do it because I can't stand the cliffhangers from week to week, and I just want to know what happens next, so I make it up in my head. I usually remember these, and a few times the show has actually followed my story fairly closely (they're in my head!). A lot of times I'm actually disappointed when the future episodes air, because I like they way I wrote it better. A note: I actually imagined the episode of Friends where Chandler proposes to Monica, almostly exactly, weeks before it aired. Spooky. I wasn't even that big a fan of the show, either.
5. I refuse to look in a mirror in a dark room. Partly because I got freaked by the Bloody Mary game when I was a kid, and partly because I don't want to live out that scene you always see in scary movies where a person is in the bathroom at night, they look at their reflection in the mirror, everything is fine, look down to the sink, then look back up and there's someone standing behind them in the reflection as lightning crashes outside the window, they scream and turn, but it's too late! If I'm going to be attacked, fine, I just don't want to find out about it that way. So if I have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I close my eyes as I pass the mirror and walk reallyreallyfast!
6. I have to eat M&M's by color. First, all the browns, then after that, the smallest group, then the next smallest group, etc, so in the end I'm left with a large group of one color of M&Ms. If the groups are around the same size, I like to leave either the greens or the blues for last, because I like they way a large group of either of those colors looks together.

I don't know that many people who blog, so I'll tag: Wayne, Ryan T (can he borrow your blog, Heidi?), Suzie, Cory, Mindy, and Megan.

Hawaiian Adventure Part 2

Ok, Lexie is at school, Seth is asleep, and hopefully this will all last long enough for me to post all the pictures I want to. And on with the show...

First off, the "conditionER incident", not the "condition incident" as I called it last post. Oops: In our condo, the bathrooms were supplied with Kirkland shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in the showers in those big giant bottles with pumps. Lexie thought the pumps were SOOOOO cool, and loved to rub all of the above all over herself, whoever else was in the shower helping de-sand her, the shower walls, the shower floor, etc etc. One time she showered with her cousin Rachel after a trip to the beach and she eashed Rachel's tummy, which Rachel thought was hilarious and mentioned for several days after. This is them watching some cartoons afterwards:

Anyway, the incident occured one morning later. After getting Lexie showered for the day, I let her hang out in her towel for a bit before getting her dressed, since I had a million other things to do, and she really wanted to lay on her bed and watch Spongebob, NOT get dressed. So I left her to herself and busied myself with other chores. After a while, I suddenly realized it'd been quite a long time since I'd seen or heard from Lexie, and that's never a good thing. I went to check on her and found that I'd left her naked a little too long. She'd gone back into the bathroom and was playing with the conditioner on the bathroom floor. This is what I found:

It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but she was completely covered from head to toe with conditioner. Well, I guess I learned my lesson.

The wedding was awesome. It was on a golf course looking down upon the ocean. The minister was amazing, seriously, if anyone knows anyone getting married in Maui, I'll have to get you his name. The reception was beautiful and the food was delicious.
*pictures to come. Posting them individually takes too long, so I'll wait till I can do a slideshow from Picassa on Wayne's computer tonight...

Our Hawaiian Adventure

It was quite an adventurous week and a half. There's a lot to cover, so I'm just going to skip the small talk and head straight into the details. First we flew from SLC to San Diego, and both kids were perfect, amazingly. I don't know how we'd manage without Jetblue and their awesome individual tv's. Lexie got to watch cartoons the whole way there and loved it. The next day we flew from San Diego, first to Oahu and then on another plane to Maui. Here's a picture of Lexie and Wayne at a fountain in the SD Airport, and some from the plane.

Both kids, even Lexie, were complete perfect angels for all this flying. By the third flight, Lexie did get a bit peeved when we had to open her window for takeoff and landing, but that was it. However, after waiting for our bags and then waiting for-EVER for our rental car, all in the horrible heat, she was wigging out. Also, it was her bedtime by then, according to her body, and she was tired. We finally made it to our condo for the night (after being bumped from our first place), had the BEST pizza I've ever eaten, and went to bed at 7pm Hawaiian time. That first condo we stayed in was great. It had an awesome layout, two whole baths for the one bedroom, and huge patio and cool cool air conditioning. We loved it and would stay there again. Here's some early morning photos from the patio:

After that first night, we stayed in a different Condo for the rest of the trip. It was really pretty, had a huge layout with a loft, and an awesome view, but NO AIR CONDITIONING. We nearly died. It made it hard to even leave the condo, because it was so hot outside, and you knew you couldn't come back in a cool off. I was really worried that Seth would overheat. Here's some pics of the condo and the view from the patio:


Like Wayne said, Lexie loved the beach. They say a picture's worth a thousand word, so I'll let the images do the talking:


Ok, so since this is taking forever, I'm going to leave it at that for now... stayed tuned to part 2 for pictures from the wedding, family, and Lexie's condition incident...

Maui

We made it to Hawii! I am sure Liz will write something up...it has not been an easy trip. Here is a picture of the resort we are staying at and also the beach we have been playing on...Lexis LOVES the beach and is fearless. She only likes to play where the waves break and as you can imagine it a full time job to protect her.

I Feel Sticky

We arrived today in San Diego, and it's WET WET WET! No, it's not raining, but I feel like I'm walking through a cloud, it's that humid. It's weird, I know Utah is a desert, but I don't think you truly appreciate the dryness until you hang out by the ocean. Plus, my hair now sucks.

Flipping Out

Two weeks ago Lexie started gymnastics at All American Gymnastics in Lindon, my former workplace. I was going to blog about it then, but she was soooooooo naughty in class, I was too mad to take pictures, and I certainly didn't want to talk about it. She didn't listen to the teacher, she was running all over the place, and she threw a fit when we left. Well, last week was Labor Day, so no class, but we got to go back today. Much better! The first half of class she listened very well and stayed with the group, 3/4 in she stayed with the class but sort of spaced out during the activities, then for the last 10 minutes she was running around wherever she pleased. So, not a perfect day in class, but a definate improvement. Next week I may change the setting on her Cochlear so she can potentially hear her teacher better, which may be part of her focusing problem. It seems like it's hard to focus in on her teacher's voice in the big gym, so we'll see if we can fix that. Then on to the 2024 Summer Olympics! ; )

3 months, baby!

Little Seth is three months old! He went in for his "three month checkup" (which was supposed to be his "two month checkup", but his doctor is just so darn popular it had to be pushed back a bit) and came through with flying colors. He's in the 25% for weight and the 80% for height. Lucky boy, tall and thin! We sure do love the guy. He's a sucker for a smile, all you have to do is look at him with one and he grins back. He also thinks his sister is the coolest thing around. Once he gets his eyes set on her he watches her in awe, with a big smile on his face.

School's Back!

Lexie had her first day of school! Yay! Like a good mommy, I had a brand new "back to school" outfit all ready for her, and I was so excited for her to finally be able to wear it. Surprisingly, Lexie was a bit hestitant about school this time around. She started crying when we got out the backpack, and the tears came again when she left on the "bus". But she was all smiles when she got home, so I think despite a bit of separation anxiety, she had a good time. Seth enjoyed his exclusive mommytime for a few hours, and I enjoyed being able to make run some errands without an impatient toddler. School rocks!

2 steps forward, one step back

Well, so much for yesterday's post. Today we've had two "accidents" so far, although I know they're not really accidents, Lexie just doesn't like the potty. Well, tough! Change is hard, but it's how we grow. Either way, she's still progressing, so we're just going to power forward. We will win this battle, or die trying!

Pretty Princesses stay dry!

It's the end of day 4, and we haven't had a potty accident since yesterday morning! I bought Lexie Disney Princess underwear, and every time I put them on her, I point out the pretty princess and tell Lexie we don't want her to get wet or dirty. I don't know if that's what working but, but whatever the reason, the princesses are safe so far! Sure, I still have to practically drag her to the bathroom while promising candy and prizes, but it's a start...

Things to look forward to:

Next Monday: Lexie's first gymnastics class
Next Tuesday: First day of School!
Sept. 12: We leave for Hawaii
Sept 18th: Aunt "Thumbs Up" (my sister Sam) gets married to "Uncle Gum" (her fiance Rob)
Sometime in October: I'm going to do a super cute tree mural in Lexie's room

The Grass is Greener...

... and it's growing, too! After over a year of dirt and weeds, and after two weeks of work prepping the ground, our hydroseed has been laid down in the backyard and we've got babies! The seedlings are about an inch high, and totally cute. I'm not sure if grass is supposed to be cute, but it is. Hopefully we'll have a real yard in 2-3 more weeks. Thanks to everyone who helped with the HUGE amount of work that had to be done to get everything ready, we really appreciate it. Hopefully we'll have pictures to post when it's grown in more. Our camera now is broken and only sort of works when it wants to... we may have to make a small investment, because what's a blog post without a picture?

My personal Hell

I think if I'm really really bad in this life, my afterlife punishment will be to potty-train Lexie for eternity. The kid is definately ready: she pulls off a wet or dirty diaper, knows how to go on the potty, and even has enough control to poop in her bed as mommy-payback for sending her to nap when she wants to keep playing. But Lexie is the kind of girl who wants the easy life, and that does NOT include doing anything herself that someone else could do for her, which apparently includes dealing with her personal waste. We're going hardcore this week, since we've got next to nothing on the calendar and school starts next week, it's our last chance to really get the whole thing going. I put together a Potty Jar, which includes candy and prizes for using the toilet. This works... when she wants it to. Half the time she goes in the potty and happily takes her prize from the jar. The other half she decides it's more fun to tap me on the leg to get my attention and then pee on the floor in front of me, big smile plastered on her face. Sigh... she's going to be a very interesting teenager. This is the middle of day two, and we've already had a several Lexie AND mommy tantrums. Here's to hoping we're doing better by day 5...

Cute pics

Here are some cute pictures we took today. We also had a little photo shoot with Seth for his baby announcements. So, look forward to getting some of these in your mailbox in the next couple weeks...

Introducing... SETH!

Here are the Seth pictures I promised! These are from the hospital, getting dressed for the first time, in the carseat to go home, and then a cute one from at home and a cute one of Lexie. They're all from his first week of life, but he looks pretty much the same now, just slightly bigger.

Baby Shower pics!

Fall Colors and Family pics

In case anyone is wondering what is "fall colors" for the big family pictures, here's are some samples. Our family is doing brown for the boys and mossy/olive green for the girls.

A couple more updates...

I thought of a few things to mention:

1. Lexie is getting big! I bought her a couple of new swimsuits on saturday, and she actually fit into the 3T sizes, width and everything! And her new 3T cropped pants from Aunt Suzie only had to be cinched in a little bit. It's nice to have clothes fit her, but I just don't know where it's coming from, because she hasn't been eating lately...

2. Seth is big as well! Ok, not "big", but tall and long and skinny, and certainly bigger than Lexie was. At 3 days old, he dropped down to 6lbs 12 oz, but by his 2 week appointment he was up to 9lbs 2oz, and 21 3/4 inchces long! Lexie was barely 9lbs at her 2 month. I can't imagine where he'll be at his 2 month...

3. I had my house cleaned today! Yes, I'm finally getting a house cleaner. I can keep the place picked up, but it's jsut so hard to clean with Lexie, because she wants to be in everything, and she never leaves my side. So now I have someone coming every other week to keep us sanitary and healthy. She did a great job today, and I'm so happy that I can take "the house is never clean" off my list of things to stress over.

4. Seth is being blessed on August 3rd. We picked this day because Ryan and Fam and Justin and Fam will all be in town, and my parents are coming as well. Everyone else, we'd love to have you there! Our church is at 9am, and our ward is HUGE, so come early to get seats. It's the Lehi 1st Ward in the Lehi Stake, if you want to look up the buildings address on mormon.org.

I'll add some post-hospital pictures of Seth, I promise... some day...

Updates

I've got a chance few moments, so here's a quick update on how everyone is doing:

Lexie: She hasn't purposely or accidentally wet the bed in like two weeks! Yay! In fact, she's starting to get back to her regular self. Sure, her "regular self" still includes a good number of tantrums and just a whole lot of craziness, but at least she's no longer the demon child. She's actually started doing some really nice things, like: 1) She loves helping me empty and fill up the dishwasher 2) She has mastered signing "Sorry Mommy" when TimeOut is done 3) She now gives me spontanious hugs and kisses, for no reason at all, and 4) She seems upset when Seth cries, and signs "Brother cry", showing that she's sad that he's sad.

Seth: The poor kid is going bald! He's completely lost all the har on the top of his head, leaving him looking more Uncle Ryan than Daddy : ). Hopefully the rest will come off soon, because I'd prefer that he look like a cueball. For the last few days he's had a cold, and his poor little nose is all stuffed up. Mommy has turned into torturer with the amount of nose sucking he's needed. Poor guy. It's been so bad, he's actually cried a few times! It's also kept us all up at night, so we're all praying he'll get better soon.

Wayne: His cold plus Seth's sleepless nights make for one tired Wayne. But he's still a very good daddy and husband. Lexie has turned him into a full-time aquatics director. He bought her a plastic $8 wade pool for the front yard, and spent all weekend watching her splash and filling up water balloons for her. I think he had nearly as much fun as her.

Liz: I'm still tired and ragged from managing the two kids, but it's time to get fit! I've got to lose as much weight as possible before I take my bridesmaid dress in to be altered, so there's a bit of a rush there. Plus, nearly all of my summer shirts now fit into the "Just because you can wear it doesn't mean you should" category. So, if anyone has any advice on how to fit in working out between nursing sessions and after Lexie's bedtime, let me know...

Still Alive

Both kids are miraculously asleep, so I thought I'd drop in a little note to let everyone know we're still alive. It's been a very, very, VERY tough almost two weeks. As I feared, Lexie is having a hard time adjusting to not being the complete center of the Tomlinson universe. There have been fits, messes, wet beds AND soiled beds, and a few smiles in between. But we've had a lot of help from friends and family, and we're very grateful for that. We all loved having "Aunt Sam" (my sister) and Cousin Rachel come visit, and Lexie got an absolute kick out of having a fun 6 year old to play with. Thankfully, Seth has been super chill and very patient, a good counter to Hurricane Alexis.

In conclusion, many days are bad, some are good. Here's to surviving, and hopefully working towards more good days than bad.

Nameless No More

It was almost written in the stars. As I lay in bed Wednesday night, I thought about what I had left to wear the next day. Being huge and not having a large amount of maternity clothes (and not all of them could even fit my bulging stomach at that point), nearing laundry day I had few options. The only thing that was clean and weather appropriate was my yellow striped t-shirt. As I realized this, I remembered that it was this t-shirt that I wore to the hospital when I was induced to have Lexie. I thought with a chuckle how ironic it would be if I happen to have the baby the next day. Thursday was also Lexie's last day of school, thus the end of any potential complications with me being in the hospital. I had actually contemplated taking castor oil earlier in the week, but had decided that if I was going to try to induce, I should wait until after school was out so there wouldn't be any complications getting Lexie there. Also, our Home Teacher came by Wednesday night and promised to pray for me to go into labor. Interesting timing.

I woke up Thursday feeling crampy and uncomfortable, but excited because I had my doctor's appointment that morning. While I tried to prepare myself for all possible outcomes, I daydreamed that the doctor would check me out and announce that the baby was on his way and instruct me to walk right over to the hospital and get 'er done. My daydream nearly came true. The doctor first felt my stomach to find the baby's position, and told me I was having a contraction right then and there! Then, after examining me, he told me he wouldn't be surprised if I went into labor that day, if not the next few days. And thus the contractions began.

That first one was at around 10:30am. They started about 30 minutes apart, and were more uncomfortable than painful. They become more frequent but still just uncomfortable over the next few hours. Around 4pm I called the doctor's office to double check that I should wait until contractions were every 5 minutes, but the nurse said that since I was a steady 10 minutes at that point, I should head on over to the hospital. Not wanting to get to the hospital too early, I called Wayne and had him wrap up work, packed a bag for Lexie, took her over to hang out with Grandma and Aunt Suzie, and eentually met up with Wayne and went to American Fork Hospital. My doctor was already there with another patient, so that was convenient.

This delivery was WAY faster than the first, but still scary at times. The anesiologist (I know that's not spelled right, but I can't think right now) looked like he was 12 years old, and that got me terrified. "Time to push" came a lot faster than anyone was expecting, and I should have pushed my pain med button a lot sooner, because I definately experienced pain. But in the end, it was fairly quick and easy, as far as labor goes. I instantly fell in love with the little guy. With Lexie, that took some time, because she represented a world of all new, terrifying things. But this little guy was not so scary, so I got to just enjoy him from the start. The second I looked at him, my mind immediately said "Seth James". I had considered this combo before and didn't like it, but when I saw him, that's just who he was.

He's been a great little guy so far. He's sleeping VERY well (4-8 hour increminents most times!) and eating like a proper Tomlinson should. Heavenly Father knew that if we were going to have another kid, he'd need to be able to adapt to us, because Lexie has a lot of needs, and I think we're getting that kid. We feel very blessed, and I can't wait to take him home and start our lives as a bigger family together.

Seth James Tomlinson

Seth James Tomlinson was born May 29th 2008 at 8:50 PM. He was 20 inches long and 7 lbs 10 oz. He and mom are doing well.

Now at the Hospital

Liz and I arrived to American Fork Hospital at 5:00 PM. Liz was admitted at 5:30 PM. It is now 7 PM and Liz is having regular contractions and more frequently. It is definitley GO TIME!

Tomlinson (and others) Call to Arms!

Today is Lexie's last day of school (for the summer), and mommy is terrified! I feel like she's just started to make progress, and I'm worried she'll regress over the summer. I've had a few meetings with her teacher, Lori Ruth, over the last couple of weeks, and she's really empowered me with a what we need to be doing and working on to get Lexie on track, both with speech and her overall development, both of which is behind on. I have a lot of faith in her teacher and her methods, because I've seen the kids in class and talked to parents and know that it works. So now we need to have it work for Lexie! Lori has suggested that I recruit family and friends to be "in the program" with Lexie, because the more people who are pushing her to do better, the faster she will, and even one person paddling the wrong direction, even someone she doesn't interact with ALL the time, can hurt the process. So here is what we're working on with Lexie. This is most important to be done at home with me, since that's where most of her time is spent, but anytime anyone sees Lexie they can help out by doing these things. Plus, I could really use everyone "being on my case", asking and making sure I'm still doing what I need to be doing for Lexie, even with the new baby.

1. Narrate everything! As we go through our day, narrate simply what's happening and what's being seen, in a clear voice and easy to understand language. Ex: "Lexie, you're looking at a book. That's a book! Who's on the book? It's a dog. The dog says Ruff Ruff!" or "Mommy is making lunch. Here's your milk. Should I pour the milk? Yes! I'm pouring the milk! Pour!"

2. Give everything a sound. Dogs say Ruff Ruff. Cats say Meow. Cars say Beep Beep. Airplanes say "AAAAAAAh!". Balloons say "Up up up!". A lot of things we've already established a certain sound to, so you can ask if you're curious, but ANYTHING can make a simple, easy to imitate sound. Show Lexie the sound and ask her to do it back to you.

3. DROP THE SIGNS! This is a HUGE one. I talked with a mom whose daughter was barely starting to babble at 4 years old. They were very much into the Deaf community, and we having a hard time dropping signing. She finally sat down with Lori, who told her that she really needed to drop the signs, because at this age, the brain can only focus on either visual or auditory, and visual was easier, so that's what it would do. They decided to have faith and drop the signs, and she started making progress in two weeks! Now her daughter is 12 and reads at an 11th grade level! Their family has picked up signing later, since it's a great language and very helpful, but until speech was solidified, the signs had to go. We must do this with Lexie! Right now it's hard, because you say something to her, like "Let's go to Grandma's!", and she looks at you as if you're speaking Japanese. Or Martian. And you know if you could just sign it she'd understand. But Lori explained that a newborn baby doesn't know what "Go to Grandma's!" means either, but the brain naturally wants to organize things and make things make sense. Just like a hearing baby will eventually learn what "Go to Grandma's" means, so will Lexie. We just have to give her brain the chance to figure things out.

4. Make Lexie be more independant! We all treat Lexie different than we would a "normal" three year old, like Mac for instance. I'm the worst! I spoil her rotten, because she's special and precious and life is hard enough for her. But this is why she is behind, because nothing is expected of her. She can't do things a three year old should be able to do, like put on clothes for example. She has the ability, she's just never been asked to do it. We've treated her like a "disabled child", and that's all she's going to be if that's all we expect from her. Her brain is fully functioning, so we need to start treating her like a normal three year old, and she will become one. This is a hard one for Mommy! If you see me helping Lexie with something she should be doing on her own, or in any other way pampering or spoiling her, tell me to knock it off!! I won't be offended, I'll be grateful, because after three years it's sort of automatic.

Thanks everyone for your support, and I know with everyone's help, Lexie can actually progress this summer, and go back to school in the fall ready to learn even more!

Grateful

I have a cute aunt who likes to send along a bunch of forwards. Most of the time I don't have time to sit and read all of them, but today she sent one that I kind of liked, and needed to read, seeing as I'm VERY whiney about my aches and pains right now...

I AM THANKFUL: FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.


FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.


FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.


FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED .



FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.


FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.



FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE



FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME .


FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM O F SPEECH.


FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION .


FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM WARM.


FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS
I CAN HEAR.



FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.



FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.



FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.


AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
FRIENDS WH O ARE THINKING OF ME.

Car Day!

Lexie's preschool had Car Day today! Yesterday we spent almost three hours making her car out of a cardboard box, and today all the kids got to run around pretending to be cars. But the best part was that Cosmo showed up! I'm not sure what the BYU Cougars have to do with cars, but it seems like they had a lot of fun. And Lexie got a Car Show Award for having the Smallest Cutest Car. I'm going to take credit for that one, I figured she wouldn't want to lug around a big SUV, she's more of a Mini Couper kind of girl...

*In the class picture, Lexie is on the bottom right corner, and that's Lexie from behind in the top right picture. Her car has a Ski Utah liscense plate. You can click on the picture to see it bigger. This is just the newsletter that was sent home today.

The end is SET.

So now my whining from yesterday is unnessesary, because a for sure end to this pregnancy has been set. Unfortunately, it's June 6th. However, it was my choice. Odd, huh? Here's how the story goes: This morning I went in for my doctor's appointment and learned, sparing the intimate details, that I've made a big progression from last week. So it seems my body is definately gearing up to kick this baby out. The doctor then gave me the option for when to schedule an induction, if nessesary. Being my second pregnancy, I could opt to do it as early as a week before my due date, but no later than a week after, for the baby's safety. The "week early" option seemed VERY tempting, but something held me back. I think that, despite my burning desire not be pregnant anymore, part of me still wants to find out what it's like to go into labor naturally (Wayne will be on the couch watching tv or reading the newspaper when I suddenly enter the family room, luggage in hand, and calmly announce "Honey, it's time". Just like in the movies, right?). And seeing as I'm making some headway already, there may be a chance that nature will take it's course. So, that in mind, June 6th is also a fun birthday (6/6), and the doctor I like best from the practice is on call that day, so it just seemed right. Well, there you have it: though hopefully sooner, Nameless Baby will be coming by June 6th.

Labor, please!

I realized today I haven't written anything for a while, which is odd considering I check everyone else's blog almost every day. I think maybe I've been waiting to have something really big to write about... you know, the really big something. But alas, no baby. I'm very very anxious to have this kid. It seems like everyday the pain and discomfort is so great, there's no way my body can make me go through it for even one more day. And yet, it does. The little more than 2 weeks to go seems like an eternity, and even though my due date is June 6th, the thought of entering June still pregnant is so depressing I can't even fathom it at this moment. I keep thinking that I haven't gone into labor yet because there are things that need to be done, but events and tasks keep getting checked off and still no baby. Hair appointment so I'll look fresh in pictures: Check. Nursery completely finished: Check. All nessesary baby supplies bought, received, or cleaned and ready from storage: Check. AWESOME baby shower thrown by Korbie: Check. Hospital bag packed and ready: Check. I've even gotten in some helpful non-Nameless Baby related appointments, like a couple of meetings with Lexie's teacher. The only thing coming up is an audiology appointment for Lexie on Tuesday, but I keep trying to reassure Heavenly Father that Wayne would have no problem handling that one. Sigh... all pregnancies do end sometime, right?

Korbie took this picture of Lexie before everyone arrived for her birthday party. I just had to post it, for one because I love the composition and the clarity (man, do I need a better camera), and also because it just seems to capture so much of Lexie's personality. Yes, boys and girls, we are drama. But ain't we cute?