Dance and Birthday

We had a very fun weekend.   On Saturday night we went to our stakes Valentine's Dance.  It was a lot of fun!  It was 50's themed, and I am proud to report that Eli and I won the Hokey Pokey contest.  We had fun with our friends there.  It made me laugh because this was my first time going to an adult church dance.  It was the opposite from a youth dance.  At a youth dance everyone comes out for the fast songs, and they clear the floor and head for the snack table during the slow songs.  At this dance, a lot of the people there were older, so they a lot left during the fast songs and crowded the floor for the slow songs.  It was really fun to have a night out with Eli.  He is actually a good dancer, a lot better than me. 

  

Yesterday was my birthday.  I am 26 now.  I don't know if its from being a mom or just being closer to thirty than twenty, but I just wasn't as excited about it as I usually am.  Well, it's not that I wasn't excited, but it didn't seem to matter as much.  Either way it was still a great day!  We went to church, came home and I got to take a long nap!  For my present Eli is going to watch Caroline so I can go shopping by myself!  Also, part of my present from him, and the best part for me, was some empathy.  Let me explain:  Caroline didn't sleep well Saturday night.  She wouldn't go to sleep for the sitter so she was up really late.  She has also been teething.  I brought her home after the first hour of church so she could take a nap, but she only slept for an hour.  So, in the afternoon, while I was napping, she would not take a nap for Eli.  She was whining, and crying.  She just wanted to be held.  But at the same time Eli was trying to do laundry, clean, and help me start dinner.  She was really a stinker for him, but I'm secretly glad she was like that for him, but now he knows what it's like sometimes.  She's usually very well behaved, but sometimes when she's not feeling well she can make things difficult.  And Eli is very nice, and appreciative of how I try to take care to take the house and have dinner ready, but now he knows and understands exactly what it can be like sometimes.  I wish I could go to his school so I can completely understand what he is doing too.

I made my own birthday dinner, not because Eli wouldn't make me a dinner but because there was something special I wanted that just isn't in Eli's repertoire.  I made Grandma's fried chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls, creamed corn, and honey carrots.  It was the best!  I am proud to say I can make mashed potatoes that taste exactly like grandmas.  If anyone in my family wants to have some, just come see me and I'll make it for you.  They are the best!  I really felt like I was having a birthday dinner at Grandma's house again.  It was a great birthday!

Thanks family and friends, it was a great birthday!

Valentine's Day

We had a lovely Valentine's Day around here. Caroline even got a present on her first Valentine's Day!

I woke up to Eli already gone, which is usual around here.  He catches an early bus and I wake up with Caroline.  But as I was waking up I heard the front door open, which kind of scared me because I thought Eli was gone and who was coming into our house?  But it was Eli, he had a bouquet of flowers for me, my favorite chocolates, and a beautiful letter he wrote for me.  Eli might be embarrassed, but people should know that he writes the most lovely letters to me!  Not all the time, but when he does they really warm my heart!  That was wonderful to wake up to.  Then he was able to stay around until 10!  He got Caroline up and gave her a single flower and a little puppy toy, which she wouldn't stop hugging!  While I nursed her, Eli read her a letter he wrote to her.  It was so sweet and went straight into her baby book.  I know I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but Eli really is the best!

I hope Valentine's day was good for Eli as well.  Because I was planning on giving him his present that evening, I didn't have it wrapped up for him yet.  But I quickly wrapped it and gave him a Landon Donnovan jersey.  He plays for the US mens soccer team.  I think Eli liked it.  Then Caroline and I brought him lunch at school.  Caroline walked all the way down a very long hall pushing the stroller.  You'd think it would have tired her out, but she didn't take too long of a nap.  I made strawberry stuffed French toast for dinner that night.  Then, how is this for romance, I went into our room to rest a bit while Eli studied and fell asleep at 8 and slept until 8 the next morning.  It sure felt good to sleep that much though.

Thanks, Eli, for making your girls feel loved.  We sure love you!

Of Hair, Poop, and other Randomness

That's right, I chopped off my hair, and I love it!  I was just getting so sick of it, it was so tangly, it wouldn't hold any curl or anything I did to it, and if I didn't bush it twenty times a day I would get a huge rats nest of tangles underneath.  So, yesterday, I found a picture of a haircut I liked, ran over to Great Clips (I never have gone to a place like that for a haircut before, but I don't have as much money to spend on hair anymore.  It was only $17 and they did a good job), and cut off almost 9 inches!

So, I asked Eli to take a picture of me, and he did but he said my smile was too fake.  So I told him to tell me something funny.  He told me to smile as if I just heard that John Travolta was coming to the KFC Yum! center in Louisville to present a special showing of Grease.  It was just so absurd it made me laugh so hard.  He kept talking about John Travolta and wouldn't stop.  It's probably not that funny, but it made me laugh.  And now I know what I look like when I laugh with my new haircut.

I just love it.  It feels so light and so much healthier.  It holds curl better, still goes up in a pony tail, and does not get tangled! 

Grandma Rhoads got Caroline this dress.  We call it her peacock dress and it is adorable!

 So, this next part is about poop.  If you're squeamish, don't read it. 
Caroline has a green smoothie every morning and is very very regular.  Pooping 3-4 times a day is normal for her.  Well, on Friday we had a very busy day and I didn't have time to make one, so we just had some toast and bananas.  She didn't eat much lunch because we went to have lunch with Eli at his school and she was too distracted by all the people and things going on to eat.  We were at costco at dinner time and she ate about 1/3 of a slice of the costco pizza.  So it wasn't her healthiest day.  And she only pooped once, and it was a weird consistency (pardon the details).  The next day was normal, she had her smoothie and regular healthy meals. And she pooped 3 times.  I just think that is amazing and definite proof of the power of green smoothies.  I know I am not as regular when I don't have one everyday. 

Well, that's about all.  We had a nice weekend and a lovely Sunday.  Church was great, we had a relaxing afternoon, and then had a delicious and fun dinner at a friends house.  Caroline now weighs 18 lbs, and is a happy girl.  She is getting close to walking too.  She makes everyday fun!

Crafts

I just thought this was so cute.  Caroline loves to look out the window in our room.  It's the perfect height for her right now.

Well, I think Caroline's room is done, for now, until we add another kid into it.  Don't worry, I'm not pregnant, nor do I plan on it anytime soon, I'm just thinking long-term here.  I think we could fit three kids in that room.  That would be great to not have to move again.  I hate moving.

Inspired by pinterest, and assisted by my mother-in-law, I made a paste out of cornstarch and water and pasted fabric to her dark, ugly, faux-wood closet doors in her room.  It turned out great!  It really brightened up her room and looks so much better! The paste doesn't leave a residue, so it's perfect for if you are renting.  You can also use it to stick fabric to walls.  I've heard you can do the same with liquid starch, but this was so cheap!  Just water and cornstarch!

Here's a close up of the fabric.  I got it at Hobby Lobby and I love it!  I am so glad Karen was there to help.  I tried it on my own before, but I really needed another pair of hands.   When I did it on my own I could not get all the bubbles and wrinkles out because it was too big of a piece to hold by myself.  Now I have to constrain myself from doing it to all the ugly doors in our apartment.  I don't want to go too crazy and make it too much.  But I am really considering doing it to the laundry room doors. 

I also made a butterfly garland to go above it.  It was really easy to do, I did it all out of scrapbook paper while we watched a movie, then we just strung them on twine and hung it up.  I like it with the door because it's girly without being too girly.

Thanks for all your help Karen.  I couldn't have done it without you!

Close up of the butterflies.  You just cut a square and a circle out of scrapbook paper, accordion fold both, hold them together and tie the middle.  I really like it. 

Today was Great!

Today was a great day!  Lots of really good things happened!  Here is why today was so much fun!

Grandma Rhoads bought her a new swimsuit when she was here.  Yes, those are hearts on it. 

I'm sorry, but this has got to be the cutest picture I have ever seen.  Her little leg and smile.  She is so beautiful!  And that really is the cutest swimsuit I've ever seen.

pig tails.

She was making the funniest faces at dinner tonight.

She's starting to perfect the art of making weird faces.

She loves to stick her tongue out. 

She kept making this silly/creepy face. 

• Caroline started nursing again!  Yay!  She nursed in the morning and before bed.  Also, there was no biting!  That was the best.  It just made me so happy!  She was in a good mood today too.
• The other fun things is that Caroline got to play with two friends today.  First this morning, we had our friend Lydia come over so her mom  could run some errands.  She had so much fun.  Lydia is almost two and they like to play together.  Then in the afternoon Lily came over while her mom went to the doctors office.  Lily and Caroline really love to play together.  Lily took every toy out of the toy box and handed them one by one to Caroline, which Caroline loved.  Lily just turned two on Sunday, and had a great birthday party.  
• I guess those are the two main points.  We had a good dinner, Eli gave Caroline a bath while I took a nap on the couch, and I learned how to do a French twist to my hair off of pinterest. I also got all of the laundry and ironing done.  I think now I am going to paint my nails now and wait for Eli to finish studying so we can go to bed.  I still have a hard time sleeping without him.  

 Good Night!

January Highlights So Far

I feel like a loser for not blogging for most of January.  It's been a pretty laid back month, but we've had some exciting things happen as well.  Here are the highlights (and low-points) so far:

• Grandma Rhoads came to visit.  She came for Martin Luther King weekend and it was so much fun!  Caroline loved playing with Grandma, and her iPad.  We showed her around Louisville, had lunch with Eli at school, did a couple craft projects (pictures to come later), and just hung out.  Grandma even watched Caroline for us one night so we could go on a date!  I just realized that I haven't taken a picture this whole month, and that was really stupid of me!  Sorry Grandma.  We had a blast though.  I kind of forgot what it's like to have an adult around to talk to.  I don't think I've talked that much, all day long, for quite a while!  Please come again soon!
• I went successfully off dairy and sugar, for the first two weeks of the month.  Once grandma visited I went lax, and it's hard to get back on the train.  But I felt really good and I didn't crave things or feel like I was missing out.  I checked out a lot of vegan cookbooks at the library and I am making copies of the recipes that sound good and will create my own master cookbook.  I've also been exercising everyday and that feels really great too.  I feel like over the past few years I've made lots of little steps for our health, and now I feel like giving up dairy will make me feel so good.  When I've given up dairy before I've felt so good.  I just need to do it.  Starting tomorrow, I'm back on!
• This announcement makes me so excited and proud of Eli.  He has honored in his Medical Neuroscience class!  They pounded out a whole course in 3 weeks.  He worked really hard and ended up with a 96% percent in the class.  To honor you must be in the top 10%.  I'm really so very proud of him.  We went to a pizza place tonight to celebrate his accomplishment.  Way to go Eli!
• Low-point: Caroline is on a nursing strike!  All of the sudden, three days ago, she started freaking out when it was time to nurse.  She would scream, arch her back, and fling herself all over the place.  It's very frustrating.  I love nursing her and miss that time with her.  I've been pumping, but I can tell my milk supply is going down and I have never been able to pump much anyway.  I'm giving her a couple of days without trying to nurse, and I'm giving her extra love and attention and I hope that will help her go back to it.  She is a little monster though.  She likes to bite, and then growl and laugh at you after she bites!
• Caroline does have a lot more tricks up her sleeve, along with her biting.  She loves to stick out her tongue, growl, and will now free-stand, she will also take a step without holding onto anything.  Today she started to roll her hands when I sang "The Wheels on the Bus." She also eats a ton.  The other day we had baked potatoes and she ate 1 1/2!  She is also know to eat multiple bowls of spaghetti, lasagna, and rice.  She also now weighs 17 lbs. and has 6 teeth.
• Our lovely maintenance people installed a new fridge and a new dishwasher in our apartment!  The old ones looked like they were from the seventies.  I hated the fridge because it was tiny and you had to dig around to get anything.  The new fridge is 4 cubic feet bigger and the freezer is huge too!  I am so happy about it.  The dishwasher holds a lot more and actually dries the dishes most of the way.  I love it!

That's about all we've been up to so far this month.  We're really proud of Eli and all of his hard work.  Tonight we are going to bed early to try to catch up on sleep.  I plan on blogging more this week!  Here's some pictures, a few weeks old though:

Back to Reality

Our Christmas break in one word: Heavenly.

It was so wonderful.  Although we missed all of the family we usually see at Christmas, dearly missed them, it was so nice staying at our house with our own little family.  And Mom and Dad came for Caroline's first Christmas and it was so fun.  Caroline loved playing with her daddy all day every day! Although he did instill a few bad habits in her that I am trying to fix.  Namely that it is a game to throw her binky out of the bed all the time, and that she has to have someone playing with her at all times (no more self playing), she likes to sit in our laps to drink her green smoothie and even likes to drink it out of our cups (not her own sippy cup).  I guess those habits aren't that bad.  She also got better at cruising along furniture, walking while pushing things around, and eating really well.  Now, the break is over.  We are getting back to our routines.  Caroline and I are getting used to being around each other all day and missing Eli.  But when he comes home at night he is greeted by two girls happy to see him!  Here are some pictures from Christmas!

 Playing with Gammy on Christmas Eve







Pappy read us a nice Christmas story Aunt Alaina sent us. 

Going to church on Christmas morning

 Caroline didn't get as excited about presents as we thought she would.  She did enjoy throwing the clothes she got out of the boxes.  That was about the highlight of presents for her.  We enjoyed opening her presents.  Thank you to all of our generous family for the presents that were sent to us.  They were all great!  Thank you so much!

 I got Eli some much needed Louisville gear, he's been sticking out like a sore thumb!

 Christmas baby!

 Eli's mom gave Eli some great church shoes, along with jeans, and regular shoes. He is ready for cold bus rides to school.

 I loved Caroline's first Christmas.  I got some great presents too: a Chi hair straightener, shoes, tights, Eli gave me some beautiful earrings, bubble bath, and a turbie towel, among other things.  Thank you moms, dads, and other family!

 Our Christmas dinner was so good!  Look at that spread!  Our Christmas miracle was a ham!  A Honeybaked Ham was sent to our apartment to the previous residents.  I didn't know what to do.  I had already sent back mail to the sender it came from.  Some friends in our ward knew the people it was sent to, they moved to Utah and told us to keep the ham!  It was delicious!  Thanks!

Mom and Dad at Christmas dinner.










Caroline and her new walk behind toy from Grandma and Grandpa Rhoads.  She is getting very adept at it!

 Caroline made best friends with Pappy when she ate his whole slice of sweet potato pie!  She loved it and wouldn't leave him alone.  She kept trying to climb up in his lap.  Luckily he was nice and shared with her. 









 

Caroline got some great bath toys for Christmas.  She loves them all!  Bathtime  is a lot more enjoyable.