Going Strong . . . Sorta

This daily blogging thing kills me. Don't get me wrong -- I love blogging, but it's hard to get posts done when there's so much going on, and the kids (Sophie) are destroying the house, and I've got cooking/cleaning/laundry/unpacking/killing ants to do, and I'm tired and want to collapse into bed.

So, I'll tell you about our 4th of July tomorrow. We ate, we shot off some fireworks, we ate some more, and one of us put on a swimsuit for the first time in four years. Guess who that was?

(OK, it was me. Four years wasn't long enough, I think.)

Until tomorrow . . .

Happy Fourth!

Before I head to bed I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Fourth of July. Every year I get a little sentimental at night, and last year it ended up on my blog. As I sat and watched the illegal firework competition between our group and the group down the street, I thought of the things I was grateful for most at the moment. Ivy was swaddled in a blanket asleep in my arms, and Sophie, who told us she was "all done" after a few firecrackers went off, was inside the house with Steve's mom.

There will be a lot of things I think about on 4th of Julys to come, but a few things will always come to mind and stir feelings of gratitude and happiness. And sometimes make me cry. Not tonight, though. (It's not as emotional without Neil Diamond singing something patriotic and narration about our forefathers. If you've seen the fireworks in Idaho Falls, you'll know what I'm talking about.)

I think about Steve a lot on this day. I think about 2003 when he proposed. Then I think about 2004 when he was serving our country in Afghanistan. Then I think about 2005 when he was home safe and sound and we watched the fireworks together up in I.F. where he had proposed two years earlier.

Mostly I think about how grateful I am that he's home safe and sound. And then my heart goes out to all of the men who weren't able to return home to their families. I'm grateful for their service and for the freedom we have to stand up for what we believe in.

God Bless the USA :)

(Because we really need it right now.)

Marathon Sleeper

Amazing things happen sometimes.

Ivy took a three hour nap yesterday. So did Sophie (but she usually does). There was only a 15 minute overlap of their naps, which means . . .

I only had one kid to worry about at a time for six hours straight yesterday. Yes, I was stuck at home all day, but the trade off was worth it. If only Ivy would conk out that well at night.

Here's another little clip of just Ivy. I don't think she gets enough attention all by herself. Probably second-child syndrome.

The second part of this clip was right after she woke up from her 3-hour nap.

Oh, and by the way, she's started scooting on her stomach. Backwards, but scooting nonetheless.

More Yosemite

OK, I'm jumping on the "post something on your blog every single day in July" bandwagon. After seeing that I only posted five times in June, I thought it would be a good kick in the tush. I really hope that I'll be able to do this (and not have to change my dates. . . you're a cheater, Sare. :)) No promises, though.

Here's a clip of the girls and some photos my dad took from our Yosemite trip. . .

. . . a preview of much giggling yet to come :)


Ah yes. Camping :)






This picture is funny to me. . . how we're kind of spread out. I like the trees.

Progress (and lack thereof)

Her choice of reading material is interesting -- it's the textbook from a weight training class I took at BYU. Wrong kind of training, kid.

Yep, we've got a toiler reader. Not a toiler goer, yet, though. We have to bribe her with M&M's just to get her to sit on it, which is only once a day now.

She sleeps in a "bigur bed" (big girl bed). We put her crib mattress on the floor for now. We're waiting for our neighbor to get back from vacation so we can borrow his truck to get her a real bed. He just doesn't know it yet.

Ivy doesn't get excited about food. It breaks my heart. I've tried giving her 4-5 different things and changing up the texture, but her reaction remains the same -- scrunched nose, awkward tongue movements, spitting, and sometimes shivers. She LOVES to suck on big pieces of carrot, though. (And cantaloupe and apple, if I hold them for her) So. . . I got to thinking. If she likes sucking on big, cold things instead of eating warm mush, maybe she'd like eating her pureed food in frozen chunks.

I broke off some pieces of butternut squash puree that was in the freezer and fed it to her in pea-sized chunks. While I didn't get the kicking, excited reaction I always got from Sophie, she at least didn't scrunch up her nose. She even opened her mouth and reached for it. We have a long way to go, I think. I really hope I'm not nursing this time next year. Seriously, where did this child come from? She is the polar opposite of Sophie in every way. (Except for her size.)

By the way, if anyone is interested in making their own baby food (it's not that hard), WholesomeBabyFood.com is an excellent resource.