Random Tidbits

So I went to the Chiropractor for the first time last week. My back has been bugging me since having 2 little chillens, so I thought I'd give it a try. There was a point during the cracken o' my backen when I envisioned myself leaving the Dr.'s office in a wheelchair with the ability to move only my eyeballs. I was going to be a paraplegic the rest of my life, I was quite certain. No Doctor, I'm not a contortionist! Ouch. But, I guess my back is a little better. The ten minutes in the electric massage table was a bit better than the OTHER table. I wonder what they call it? The torture chamber? Now I just need to work on not hunching over all the time with two little ones. The alternative is, well, a bit scary. I think I forgot about having a baby faster than I'm forgetting about the Chiropractor. I'll keep you posted. Maybe I'll do some research on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The other night Jacob and I thought Kenna was in bed so we were downstairs sitting in front of the fire. When we came up the stairs we found Kenna sitting quietly in the middle of the kitchen on her camp chair with her little legs dangling off the side. She had her hands in her lap and she was wearing her church shoes. Now how do you get angry at that?

So Kenna has a new method of eating her cereal. She has to hold back the cereal with one hand while using the other hand to scoop up the milk with her spoon. When a nasty little Trix floats it's way onto her spoon she gets quite angry about it. This morning she got so upset she pushed away her bowl and declared, "Cereal too wild!" That was the end of breakfast.

This past week Jacob and I have been affectionately referred to as "hon." Kenna frequently calls us "hon." "Where you go, hon?" "Whatcha doin', hon?" "What's wrong, hon?" At least it's a house of love. There truly is beauty all around.

On Sunday a cute new family in our ward spoke during Sacrament. During the mom's talk she got teary-eyed and Kenna so innocently looked up at Jacob and said, "Go kiss her better, Daddy." Uh...no. But thanks for the concern my little cherub.

We are looking forward to heading up North this weekend! Of course Kenna has come down with a cold, go figure. Hopefully we can break up the drive by spending time in Salt Lake and manage to keep our sanity intact. Have a great weekend all!

Blowing

So last Friday night we wanted to get out of the house, so decided to take Kenna bowling for the first time. She seemed pretty excited about it and said we were going to go "blowing." Off we went to the blowing alley. We knew Friday night might be a bit crazy, but after standing in line behind the drunken college crowd for about ten minutes who had absolutely no regard we were there, we decided to call it a night and opted to try again on a more family friendly evening. So guess what we did for family home evening last night? Yep, we went blowing. Despite Kenna's initial excitement, she didn't want to leave daddy's lap. We had the bumpers all set up and they even had a great little ramp to shove the ball down. Now THAT is my kind of bowling! Would you believe, however, I managed to get a gutter ball even with the bumpers up? Yep. Talent my friends, talent. So we gave in trying to get her to play and Jacob and I finished up a rip-roaring game. I think we may have even broken into the seventies. Well, perhaps that's an exaggeration. I am pleased to say, however, Kenna turned into our little cheerleader and was perfectly content watching us favor the gutter while she enjoyed her fruit snacks. Allie of course just chilled in her carseat like she usually does, but I think she was perfectly content as well (would have flipped that picture upright but I don't have the patience to change it- just do some neck aerobics and you'll see it alright!). The highlight of the evening, however, was the twenty-five cent ride on the horsey. Not just any horse, oh no, this is Zorro, the blowing alley-super-duper-great-mighty horse! Judging by her smiles, I think it was as close to heaven as Kenna has been since birth. The picture just didn't truly capture the moment.

Another great Kenna moment: While playing at the McD playplace, I told her time was up and it was ready to go. Of course she ran away. When I caught up to her on the slide and picked her up to go she yelled out VERY loud, "No mom! I'm pooping!" Oh boy. Fortunately it was late in the afternoon and the only person in there was an employee emptying out the garbage cans. He sure got a good laugh, though! I'm glad to know we weren't responsible for someone losing their McNuggets.

Forgive me but the last picture I just had to throw in, I love it- my little Allie having a sink-bath. We tried to be quiet while Jacob was sleeping last week so gave her a bath in the kitchen. Look at those cute rolls!

Kenna-isms

Lately Kenna has a new thing. A huge portion of what she says is followed by "a little bit." For example: "Daddy sick a little bit." "Daddy sore throat a little bit." "Cow's wild a little bit." "The horse stinky little bit." "I made a mess a little bit." "Bear hungry a little bit." "I poopy a little bit." "Allie sleep a little bit." She also tells us that she is "working." She does all sorts of random things and then says she is working. Then she'll pretend to fix things. Of course, her word for fix is "fic." "I fic it." We have a little end table in our front room, and that is her stage. She likes to stand up on it to sing "Once There Was a Snowman," and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." Right now she is running around with the telephone pretending to talk to all sorts of people. Aunt Steph, Aunt Connie, Grandma Shelly, Uncle Benson, the Bishop. Ah, what a little Saint.

Happy New Year! Our New Year came and went without much excitement. I guess I could have stuck around New Year's Eve to enjoy Jacob on narcotics, but rather decided to let daddy have some peace and quiet so the girls and I went to McDonalds to "celebrate." I decided I would go to McD's so Kenna could play in the play place. What do ya know, the play place was closed. Nice. Oh well. At least it was pretty quiet in there- not too many people dine at McDonalds on New Years Eve! I can't imagine why....

I suppose I should report on the invalid (he he, I say that with great affection). He is slowly doing better. I think I am more ready for him to be better than he is! To make the week even more enjoyable, my little Allie has had an ear infection in both ears, and I believe I see some little teeth buds finally coming up. Sheesh! May I never be a single mom. It has been quite the week, but we are seeing gradual improvements. He has been desperate to eat some meat, so today tried a small little hamburger. It went down better than he thought, so that was good. I think the chicken noodle soup has worn out its welcome. Hopefully another week or so and we will be back to normal... a little bit.

Wild Week of Christmas

Woops! Time to update. The past week has gone by too fast.

Christmas was wonderful! The girls and I loved having daddy home for 4 days straight. We just relaxed and enjoyed each other. We took Kenna sledding for the first time on Christmas Eve. She was sure cute. Santa made it to our house and Kenna thought all of Allie's toys were hers. Perhaps there will come a day when that will create some serios chaos in the home! For now my cutsie little 4-month-old just coos and thinks life is grand even if her sister steals her toys. I myself love to wear my cozy new slippers and dance in the kitchen to my new Michael Buble CD. Kenna likes to join in too. I love it!

Today Jacob got his tonsils out (yep- yuck!). Everything went very well. All except the part where he passed out after he got the IV in. His heart rate dropped and mine skyrocketed. At first I thought he was just teasing me about being squeamish with the IV, but pretty soon I was shaking him wondering what the heck was going on! He came to and looked at me wondering why I was so concerned. Apparently it can create a sudden drop in blood pressure and heart rate and cause you to pass out. The nurse said it's pretty common. Perhaps it's also common for wives to be in tears thinking their husband is going into convulsions! I am proud to say I dried up after that and was just fine the rest of the time, thank you very much. I'm sure the next few days will be full of pain meds and Jell-O, but hopefully he will be back to normal soon. We've heard the recovery is a real kick in the bootie but the end result is well worth it. So I'll just be playing mommy nurse for the next little while. I told Jacob after he is feeling better I am definitely cashing in on a pedicure!

Pictures: Kenna and Allie in their matching Christmas jammies. Too cute! No, you're not seeing things, the other picture is a hammock hanging in my basement. What the picture doesn't show are the two eyebolts making lovely gaping holes in the wall. Thank goodness for wall studs to hold up a hammock. It's Jacob's "recovery ward" idea in front of the fire. Sometimes I just smile and say, "get the plaster, honey."

Monday Clean

For some reason, by the time Sunday night rolls around my house is a disaster. Even if I start out Sunday morning with a clean house, it is inevitable that it will be dirty come nightfall. I wonder why that is? Perhaps it's a combination of baby paraphernalia, a toddler who can pull out everything, Sunday lunch, and a tired mommy who just wants a day off. I suppose it's okay to let it go every once in a while to just sit back and enjoy my family. Of course when Monday morning rolls around, I've got my work cut out for me! Oh well. I guess I'll be grateful for stuff to even clean up and cute little ladies and a husband to help make a mess. I teased Jacob last night and told him that the house stays clean during the week when he's gone, but on the weekends when he's home it's messy.....hmmm. Ha!

Saturday night our neighbors had a Christmas party, so we got a babysitter. Yep, Allie's first time with a babysitter. Hey, I'm getting better. With Kenna, we waited almost 9 months before she stayed with a babysitter for the first time! (well, other than family). I had just fed Allie and put her down before we left and thought all would be well. The cute babysitter finally gave in and called about and hour and a half later saying Allie woke up about 3 minutes after we left and had been crying the whole time! Poor girl! Is it possible for a 4 month old to be a momma's girl? I guess so. I actually think the big problem is her teeth. Well, I hope so anyway, or I have no idea what to do with the little Oscar. Hopefully we will see some little chompers break through soon.

The first picture is Allie all bundled up to go outside. It reminds me of little Randy in "A Christmas Story" saying, "I can't put my arms down!"

The second picture is Allie just kickin' it in the Dora chair. Kenna was so nice to share, but soon tried to pull her out of it.

Good luck on all your last minute Christmas to-do's!

Allie Rae of Sunshine

My poor little Allie hasn't gotten much blog attention lately, so she deserves a turn! She has actually been doing a little better lately. Well, minus the ear infection. If it's not one thing it's another! She is just such a sweet little thing and so darn cute. She has the chunkiest little cheeks that are little kiss magnets. Getting a good picture of her has been a challenge though. I can't get a real good one of her smile. When I get one, I will definitely get it posted. When she smiles, her whole little face lights up, it is absolutely precious. It's amazing how much a little spirit can add to a home. Kenna sure loves her sister too. She is always in her face, poor Allie sure puts up with it well. It will be so fun to see them interact as they grow older. My FAVORITE though, is watching Jacob with his little girls. I don't think a daddy could love his girls more. There is something so sweet about a daddy and his girls. Ahhh, it's the most wonderful time of the year! La la la. Ah, come on. You all know you're singing along.

The Big TWO

Well ladies and gentleman, my little Kenna has made it to 2 years old! Unfortunately we had a quarantined birthday. Last week Jacob and I endured strep. It was awful, nasty, and I wouldn't wish it even on Hilary Clinton. (Apologies to any fans). Fortunately we are feeling better. As I headed to the store to pick up our antibiotics, I managed to grab some balloons and a cake for Kenna. How depressing that I bought a cake for my two-year-old. I grew up with the funnest homemade cakes, and here I am, supporting the Associated Foods Store bakery. I was fooled by the "cookies and cream" title. It was gross. Even if my throat wasn't on fire, it would still be gross. What a disgrace to Oreos and a waste of $6.99 (Can you believe that? I can get a cake mix for 69 cents! Ridiculous!). Good thing Kenna was way too involved in her ice cream to even care about the cake. She got a new horse that sits on springs and she can bounce. Now she can really get into The Man From Snowy River and feel like she's part of the action. We also got her a new potty that makes music when a little something something makes it's way into the basin. The little stinker figured out how to turn it over and push the button to make the music, so that had to be disconnected. So much for incentive, huh? She just gets cuter by the day. Each day she pops out with a new phrase that makes us laugh. It was sure fun to celebrate her sweet little spirit being in our home, even if we weren't feeling well. Also there's a picture of Kenna last week when she was having a tantrum on the top stair then ended up falling asleep there. Too funny! Oh, and another cute one: when we were up at my mom and dad's we were playing games and I realized Kenna was really quiet in the kitchen, which is a pretty good indication she is doing someting she shouldn't be. When I found her, she was playing in the flour. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I make a mess!"