Squeaky Wheels

There's nothing wrong with being a squeaky wheel - sometimes it even pays off! After 9 months of appealing our insurance company for coverage of Peanut's helmet - we finally won! It was great news!

Happy Day!

I haven't posted Valentine's or President's Day, but today is a happy one nonetheless. I mentioned in my last post that we had been sick, but on the mend. No such luck - we've all had another miserable round of some winter cold and we're looking forward to Springtime in hopes that winter colds will be left behind.

We traveled to Ogden Canyon last week to meet up with Officer's Brother and family for a few days. It was nice to just hang out with them because we don't get to see them very much. Peanut thinks she is so grown up and loves to follow her big cousins everywhere. We went to The Treehouse one morning for a few hours and I'm not sure if the Dad's or the Kids had more fun. Miss Peanut did not stop the whole time - there was so much that she could do and mom didn't have to say no. She was really fascinated with a giant chess board and a wheelbarrow full of wood pieces, but she also painted, attended a tea party, a puppet show, saw a dollhouse museum, climbed through tunnels, crossed bridges, drove fire trucks, played music, and sat in the oval office.

We made a stop to see some old friends in Pocatello before heading home. It was a quick stop overnight, but so good to see them. Of course I didn't pull out the camera, but Miss Peanut was hilarious to watch learning to play with their dogs.

Officer works weekends, so we didn't plan anything for Valentine's, which is okay. We've been swapping babysitting with my siblings a lot lately which is nice. We were able to go to the temple Friday night and in turn we offered to watch my sister's girls on Valentine's Day. I made Officer one of his favorite meals after he got off work and when my sister and her hubby got home we played a little Rockband. Not real exciting, but it doesn't change that I love him. We always reminisce around this time of year because it's when we "fell in love."

We blinked and here we are 6 years later. We'll get a chance to celebrate next week - a little late for both Valentine's and Officer's birthday (we are teaching the youth in our ward for the dance festival on his birthday - so I've got to make it up to him.) Anywho - that's what's going on here.

We're still here.

It's been a little busy lately and Blogging hasn't been a priority, but for our family far away I thought I should post at least something.

So since finishing the helmet Miss Peanut has become even more adventureous. She is climbing anything and everything. I turn around and she has climbed onto the kitchen table, or the kitchen counter. Today in Young Women's she climbed on top of the keyboard - laying on top of it. She uses blocks and toys to stand on constantly and has discovered if they are close enough to the couch she can climb up onto it and slide off the arm rest and do it again...and again...and again. Her energy is nonstop most of the day. Here is a video it's a little long, but I won't feel bad if you don't watch it all - it's mostly for grandma and grandpa.

A few highlights of the last few weeks:

• We've all been sick...twice, but we're on the mend.
• We started learning the choreography for the upcoming dance festival becasue we are the instructors for our ward.
• We've loved waking up to more snowy days - that means it's warming up - it has been so cold!
• We got to see brand new babies from two of our friends - so precious.
• I've been taking Miss Peanut to the Library "Baby Bugs" book/singing time every week. She loves being with other kids, but I'm guessing that's where we caught the other "bugs" we've been dealing with.
• I cooked Moose Stew - Officer thought it was great, I had a hard time getting over the fact that it wasn't a cow.
• I started taking a Parenting Class with my mom and sister.
• I spent 8 hours at Pow-Wow for scouting. It really was a lot of fun and I can brag that I learned how to tie knots.
• After I got home from Pow-Wow, that night in fact, the bishopric came and released me from scouts and called me to the Young Women's Presidency.
• We're actually doing pretty well on our New Years Resolution's, thus far.
• Officer's Chruch-ball team won their first game.
• I finished reading The Last Lecture, Harry Potter #3 and Officer and I started reading Angels and Deamons.
• Officer's Football team just won the superbowl.

Here's another quick video. Peanut use to squeal when we would say prayers at dinner or bedtime. Now she is starting to say her own little prayers. So cute - it's absolute jibberish, but so sweet.

Coming up:

• I'll be having my last den meeting at my house this week. I'm going to miss scouts, but I'm really excited for young womens(YW).
• I'm teaching my first Lesson in YW next week - gotta admit I'm slightly nervous, I haven't taught anyone above 8 years old in a while.
• We're heading out of town to meet up with Officer's brother and family next week - it will be good to see them. And we'll be making a side trip to see Officer's friend Lou and family.
• Of course Valentine's Day
• Officer will be turning the big 29

That's probably it. I'm not making any promises for a next post soon, we'll see how the next few weeks go.

We finally graduated from the helmet! YEAH!

After just shy of 7 months, we graduated today from the helmet! My advice to anyone who may need to consider a helmet for their child - Do it! The longer you wait the slower the progress. Peanuts case was considered severe - even the day she was born I talked to the Pediatrician about it because it was noticable from the start. I had hoped that with my education in Physical Therapy it would work itself out, but it would not have on it's own. Of course not every child needs one, but if you've had it suggested to you by your pediatrician talk to an orthotist and they can help you decide. It really is better not to wait! And if you need to do it - be strict/consistent with it. Because we were consistent, Peanut's results were the best our orthotist had seen, for starting with an older infant(6 1/2 months). Her head was wider than it was long when we started and today her measurments were only 2 mm wider and 14 mm longer. Here is the final scans from before (on the left) and after (on the right). It really is amazing - we're so happy with the results.

These are her first non-helmet piggy tails, love the bump on her eye - that was before the helmet was off

And this is my very favorite "cheese" face, had to add it.

Finally Catching up!

CHRISTMAS
Christmas eve was quiet, Officer volunteered to worked until late, so it was just me and Miss Peanut opening Christmas Pjs together. The camera was more entertaining than opening the gift - it always is.


It was just us Christmas morning, just simple and reasonably quiet. This has to be my favorite picture from Christmas morning - Peanut got a car from Grandma. She thinks she is big stuff now.





We spent Christmas afternoon with my family and I have to brag a little that I successfully made Christmas dinner. My Dad was leaving the next morning to visit family in Salt Lake and wouldn't have anyone to drive with him on the way home, so I volunteered to go. Officer has worked about 50 hours of overtime in the past week. He worked 10 hours Christmas eve, 5 - ten hour shifts and then worked a grave shift for new years eve. Tomorrow he starts back to his regular work week. Needless to say - I haven't seen much of him so I decided that a trip out of town would allow him a little extra sleep and Peanut and I got to visit family we hadn't seen in a while. That's also why it took me a while to post Christmas. Peanut is still a great traveler. No one there was used to little ones, so nothing was Peanut-proof - I felt like all I did was say no-no all weekend. Every home we went to had stairs and although Peanut had mastered going up - I was a little nervous about going down. She had it figured out almost immediately. We did have one little mishap - the poor girl - even with the helmet she managed to fall and hit her cheekbone on a shelf. Lucky for me, we were staying with my aunt who is a nurse and she had her fixed up in no time. It was quick trip, but we enjoyed it.

NEW YEARS!

Now that we're home and wholly invested in our new years resolutions, I haven't been on the computer much. I know we all make resolutions, some we'll never keep but one of the resolutions Officer and I decided on for this year was to actually LIVE the budget. We've had a budget for a long time and it changes of course, but we've never had to stick very rigidly to it, but we decided that we needed to stick to it and save a little more and spend a little less this year. And for at least this month was to go without using our credit card. Some of the best financial advice I was ever given was to pay credit cards off at each statement, so you don't incure all the crazy interest. Now I'll pat us on the back becasue we really are good with using our credit card and we have always paid it off each month, but we decided we're going to be using it a little less. My sister in law asked a couple months back if either of us have a slush fund - or our own little bit of fun money. We've never done that, so we're giving it a try - I'm hoping that by allowing each of us the set amount we'll use the credit card less and when the fun money is gone that month - that's it. I think that by telling all of you and writing it down - I'm more determined to follow through, I'm sure I'll let you know how it's going. Good luck to you all in your resolutions!

MISS PEANUT
Miss Peanut has got moves, I'm one of the clumsiest people you'll ever know so she must have gotten her moves from her dad. As soon as she could sit up she has been able to keep a beat and now that she has walking figured out her moves get funnier all the time. In the evening we let her watch Baby Einsteins after she gets out of the tub - it's one of the only ways we get her to hold still long enough to get her dressed. This is a video of the other night.


I think that just about catches us up. This week is possibly our last week with the helmet - it's going to be a tough transition for Miss Peanut - who is pretty much fearless and up until now the helmet has deterred many bumps and bruises. Wish us luck! And we should receive a reply soon from our never ending appeal with the insurance company for coverage of the helmet - it's been quite a battle, but we're trying to be the squeaky wheel that finally gets greased. We hope you're all well - it's been fun to recieve your Christmas cards and read about your holidays!

White Christmas

Finally - it's been a while since I remember having a white Christmas, probably since the year we moved back here. I was shoveling snow today, I don't really mind it - it was nice to get outside for a few minutes. This was the view from the sidewalk. I love it!


We also took Miss Peanut to meet Santa this year - last year she was really little and I wasn't brave enough yet to go to the mall on my own with a newborn. She didn't say she wanted anything, so...just kidding. She did really good, just long enough to get a picture, then she realized she was out of the stoller and tried to make a run for it. Stinker! She is everywhere these days.

Christmas Letter 2008

To make up for my lack of Christmas letter with our Christmas card this year I'm just going to do a little recap on our blog. If you visit the blog you probably know some of it already, so feel free to skim.

I'm so proud of Officer for all that he has accomplished in the last year. Your probationary year as an officer is pretty brutal. Rough hours, lots of paperwork, lots of tough training officers, but he has done exceptionally well and loves his career. He does come home totally exhausted most days, but he still truly enjoys his career. It's kind of fun for him to come home and watch the news and say, yeah I arrested that person, or helped with that accident. Last week he even changed a tire for a little older couple; he really goes above and beyond what is required of him. Now that he's done with all the training, he has had more time outside of work to things he enjoys. He plays "church-ball" everyweek; it's hard to understand all the injuries that happen, but he keeps going back. We were able to spend a week in California this summer skin-diving with his family and in October he was able to spend a week hunting with his dad. He's also pretty handy around the house and I appreciate all his help with "honey dos." In October he and his dad even poured concrete to extend our patio.

I celebrated my 28th birthday this week and I was thinking about what I did ten years ago - I turned 18. I know that I knew "everything" at eighteen, but I don't know that I had a clue what the next ten years would bring. This year, I'm especially grateful to be at home with Peanut. After working full time for so long I was really nervous about staying at home full time. It has definately been a transition, but I a truly blessed to able to be home with her. I guess that has encompassed most of my 2008; I'm finally feeling like I'm finding my niche in the stay at home mommy world. Being home I've been able to find more time to read, I planted a garden again this summer, and I've done a few crafty things and sewing projects, with help from my mom of course. I got a sewing machine from Officer and my goal next year is to get better at using it. I've also had a lot of fun being a cub scout leader and I even managed to start running again.

Peanut if seriously the greatest joy of our lives. Sometimes we still can't believe we're parents; the time just goes so fast. Peanut is into everything; she's so curious and so smart. I love that she can tell me what she needs with a few signs she knows. I'm trying to teach her how to tell me when she needs to go potty because she really is nearly potty trained. I won't be giving up diapers until she's a little older, but using less is so nice. She learned how to blow kisses last week and she is doing really well at copying sounds that we say. We're working on what animals say, but the only one she knows really well is an elephant, of all things. She is good at being quiet when we say prayers, but Officer has made a habit of getting excited after we say "amen." It's great because she is proud that she has been quiet, but it was funny last week at church, it was fast and testimony meeting, and everytime someone would say "amen" Peanut would squeal. It's so hard to keep from laughing cause it's so cute!

We know that our little family has been so blessed this year. We love you all and hope that you enjoy this Christmas season!

Oh Christmas Tree

When we bought out house - I loved that it had a formal living room, I called it my Christmas tree room. It took a few years before I got it all decorated, but now that it is done I think one of my very favorite things to do this time of year is sit there and enjoy my tree. It's just a little tree, and it's fake - I know a real tree is so much better, I don't disagree. Someday we'll do the real tree thing, but this was easier this year. We added a little extra height to it, so that Peanut can only reach the bottom where I have jingle bells and stuff she is constantly ooh-ing over. Anyway there is nothing better than snuggling up in a blanket with something warm to drink, (Tangent: vanilla steamers - that's also a favorite, not so much the hot cocoa; Officer goes for the spiced cider) all the lights out except for the tree and enjoying the stillness.

Checking it Twice

If your address has changed since last year, please let me know. I'm updating my address list before I send out Christmas cards. Thanks!

Happy Birthday and Happy Thanksgiving!

In addition to Thanksgiving this week we also celebrated Peanut's 1st Birthday, November 26th. ! I can't believe how fast it's gone! Here are a couple pictures of my teeny Peanut.

Lots of family and friends came to help her celebrate her birthday. We had yummy soups for dinner and ate a giant star cupcake - cake.

And she had a cake just for her! She wasn't quite as messy as she was with her cousins' cake a couple weeks ago.

She got lots of new toys and cute clothes, but the next morning her favorite gift was still balloons that Officer brought home for her.

After the party was over I got started on baking pies for Thanksgiving - I spent most of 24hrs in the kitchen. I made 2 pots of soup, baked 2 loaves of french bread, 48 cupcakes, 2 pumpkin pies and 1 apple pie, 2 pans of stuffing and...I think thats it. Officer made me take a picture of the pumpkin pie (his family LOVES pumpkin pie and he wanted to make them jealous I think - it was a yummy pie) Baking is great, but I'm glad I didn't have to cook the turkey. Needless to say it was a busy couple days. It was nice to sit and enjoy Thanksgiving day with my family.

We are grateful for so much, but especially all the little things that happen around our house and make us laugh. Here are just a few

Totally off subject because I am so grateful for the home I have, but I found my dreamhouse and the picture of it was uploaded with all the birthday pictures. I'd love to build this home on a couple acres somewhere - but probably just in my dreams.

We are the proud parents of a toddler.

Can you believe it?! She's really a toddler now! Where did the time go? We'll celebrate her 1st birthday next week.

Before and After

5months since we first started the helmet and we've mad lots of progress - we're thinking that it will only be a couple more months unitl we're done.

Mmmmm.....

Mmmmm... Those were her words as she got her first ice cream cone. It was one of those teeny kiddie cones and she finished the whole thing all by herself. Such a big girl already.

This going to be a long post - just to let you know!

Forgive me for my lack of blogs the past couple weeks. I've been trying to spend less time on the computer and more time doing other stuff so my blogging may be a little more infrequent. In attempt to catch up yet again - I'll start with Halloween. I dressed up miss Peanut as a Martian again and we decided to take homemade bread rather than treats and visit a few earthling friends.
When I loaded her into our car she kept looking at herself in her little mirror like "something's different mom". Really funny to watch.
On our little adventure out, I took my little martian on a trip to visit grandpa at work and happened to run into her astronaut cousin - you can see that it was a peaceful encounter.

The next morning bright and early we left on a flight to sunny Arizona. My brother agreed to drop us off at the airport -Thanks again cause it was really, really early. Peanut is still an awesome traveler! I think I've been bragging about her lately - cause hello she's an angel - most of the time. Of course she got a little restless, but to be expected.

Officer's brother and family live in Mesa and we hadn't seen all their kids in about two years so we really wanted to just go hang out with them. They also had twin cousins for Miss Peanut (and us) to meet and they celebrated their 1st birthday while we were there. We got to go to the Pheonix Zoo just after we arrived - sorry no pictures I camera was packed in a bag somewhere. Of course Phoenix Zoo is huge compared to our local zoo and it was so nice to be out in the sunshine now that its getting colder at home. It did get hot for all the little ones and they had this water feature play area for the kids. They were all soaked, but it cooled them off. Officer and I were able to visit the Mesa Temple, I did a little ribbon shopping and the boys all went hunting one afternoon, but most of our trip we just wanted to hang out with the family.

The twins celebrated their 1st birthday and after they had their fun with cake we gave Peanut a trial run since her birthday is in 2 weeks. I started her with a cupcake just to see how it would go. Um - so after she ATE the entire cupcake we let her go at the cake (Rhett would hardly touch his cake - we couldn't let it go to waste). Her birthday will be fun!

I am amazed watching my sister-in-law keeping up with 6 kids. With them living in AZ I haven't been able to spend all that much time with her so it was really fun to get to know her better. She also taught me how to make bows - silly I know, but she has it down and they are so cute, so I picked up a new talent. Here are a couple modeled by Peanut - she wasn' t that thrilled that Gabe was holding her and wouldn't look at the camera, but you can see the bows really well. Other than making bows - I just loved watching all the kids play together. I hardly saw Peanut most of the time because she was right there following the twins.

I had to censor the cutey bootey!

One night we all went out for pizza at Organ Stop Pizza. The kids totally loved it. They were all boppin' to the music.

Mitch and Peanut were swapping sippies the whole week - what is so interesting about some one else's sippy - I don't get it. Lucky for us Peanut didn't get sick. My poor sister- in-law! When we left her she had 3 barfing kids and was still knee deep in laundry after 10 loads. It was a sad way to end our visit, but we totally enjoyed the trip. I'm sure they're all feeling better now - we miss you guys!