Seven Year Itch

Nick and I just celebrated our seven year anniversary. Nick's Aunt watched Shasta and Shelby so we could do sealings at the Temple (like we do every year) and go to lunch. It was nice to have a date just the two of us, especially since we experienced so much stress the last couple of months. This was the 8th time we've done Temple sealings on or around May 20th. I love our tradition! I wish we would have taken a picture in front of the temple every year to see how much we've changed. Oh well. Maybe we'll start next year.

Some say that seven years of marriage brings on a seven year itch. To help keep our marriage alive we came up with a list of things we want to do together. It's a life-long list so some of the things we can't do for years to come, but as we check things off we'll add pictures and stories. It should be fun!

1. Tour Nick's mission
2. Go on a cruise
3. Build a cabin
4. Go skinny dipping
5. Visit Nauvoo again
6. Participate in The Nauvoo Pageant
7. Do a session in every temple in Utah (St. George, Monticello, Vernal, Manti, Payson, Provo, Provo City Center, Mt. Timpanogos, Draper, South Jordan, Oquirrh Mountain, Salt Lake, Bountiful, Ogden, Brigham City, Logan)
8. Write a children's book together
9. Go to a live recording of The Big Bang Theory
10. Graduate from college

    

    One down, one to go

11. Attend a Devil's hockey game
12. Build a sandcastle
13. Swim by a waterfall
14. Spend Christmas in our no longer pretend cabin
15. Attend a baseball game at Fenway Park
16. Attend a baseball game at Rigley Field
17. Audition for a role in a community play
18. Sing "Must Have Done Something Right" in a talent show
19. Make a vacation t-shirt quilt
20. Beat Mario Bros 3 on old school Nintendo without warping
21. Read the Children of the Promise series
22. Attend a Relay For Life event and stay from start to finish
23. Drive cross country in a RV
24. Go to a Buffalo Bills football game
25. See Jim Gaffigan live
26. Visit San Diego Zoo
27. Shake hands with the Prophet
28. Become millionaires
29. Make ice cream sculptures
30. Attend the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City and speak Old English the whole time
31. Keep playing Killer Bunnies until we've gone through the entire deck of cards
32. Take a Sign Language class
33. Take a Volleyball class
34. Dress up and go to dinner
35. Write and send a fan letter
36. Have a home in Parade of Homes
37. Attend Wicked
38. See a show on Broadway
39. Attend at least one high school reunion
40. Ride on a train
41. Go ice skating
42. Go to White Pine Lake (arguably one of the most beautiful hikes in Utah)
43. Buy a Kitchen Aide
44. Serve a mission
45. Go to a Bees game
46. Put flowers on President Hinckley's grave
47. Learn the history of Elizabeth Rogers (Who Shasta was named after)
48. Learn the history of Eliza Abigail Hendricks (Who Shelby was named after)
49. Pan for gold
50. Become a True Aggie
51. Ride an elephant
52. Attend a World Series game
53. Go to a Super Bowl
54. Clean the sink at Angie's
55. Find out what's eating Gilbert Grape
56. Go camping in our own backyard
57. Host a Murder Mystery dinner party
58. Submit a screenplay to Hollywood
59. Eat something exotic
60. Watch Star Wars without falling asleep (eh hem, Sara!)
61. Go to the circus 

    

    Completed 9/27/13. Read about it here!

62. Go to an Imagine Dragons concert
63. Flip a house
64. Take piano lessons
65. Support a charitable cause
66. Buy a car with doors that slide instead of hinge
67. Go to a drive-in movie
68. Become debt free and celebrate with Dave Ramsey
69. Take a ride in a submarine
70. Become grandparents
71. Volunteer in a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving
72. Participate in a bowling Tournament
73. Enter something into the County Fair
74. Go horseback riding
75. Make a Christmas Village out of Legos

Jump Zone

We had been wanting to try out Jump Zone, but I didn't think it would be very fun for Shasta to jump alone so we invited some friends for a playgroup.

Jump Zone is a room full of trampolines all connected together with mats to cover the bars and springs.

It's divided into sections, but we only played in the little kid area so I don't know what the other sections are like.

Our area had 4 giant trampolines, basketball hoops, a "slide" according to Shasta (see climbing picture above), and a big foam block pit with random balls.

The foam pit was quite the workout! It wasn't very deep, but it had`a trampoline floor, so it made climbing through it more difficult!

I thought Shasta would love it more than she did. She jumps all the time at home, but when we got there she was really skeptical. It took her a while to warm up, but then she seemed to enjoy herself.

Shasta was mostly concerned about the other kids. Every time anyone wandered off, she was the first to notice and she would come and tell me. She's such a little mother!

And proof that Shelby was there. She slept so peacefully on the side.

All our friends that came. Left to right: Robyn, Wes, Addi, Lizzy, and Shasta (Shelby not pictured). Two sets of twins and Shasta! Ha! Between the 3 of us there were 6 kids there and the other two mommies didn't even bring their babies which would have made 8 kids total (not that the 3 babies can jump). Thanks Christiansen's and Schwartz's for playing with us!!!

Monkey Baby!

Anyone else see the resemblance?!

  I think it's the big, beady eyes and the button nose!

Shastaisms Season 1: Episode 1

 I love the way small children mispronounce things. Here's some of Shasta's.

"Papapus" (only she doesn't really say the first 'a' so it's more like p-papus) - Platypus

"Spadaddy" - Spaghetti

"Tooter" - Tooted

"Yiyon" - Lion

"Appa Jooz" - Apple Juice

"Uh oh daisy" - Oopsie Daisy

"Sammich" - Sandwich

All of her 'c' sounds are 't' sounds


"Mitty Mouse" - Micky Mouse

"Tum on" or "You tummin?" - Come on or Are you coming?

"Titto Titto" - Tickle Tickle

"Tootie" - Cookie

Shasta also says some funny phrases and mimics things I say.

If I ask her a yes/no question such as "Do you want to take your baby with you?" She'll say, "Sure".

She says, "Gosh dang it" through her clinched teeth when she drops something or something isn't working the way she wants it to.

When she gets hurt she says, "Darn it, darn it".

Whenever Shelby cries she says, "What's the matter Shelby, what's the matter?" I wish I could describe the voice she uses to say it because it's the best part.

She also says, "Goodness Shelby, goodness".

"Mom, what doing?" This one she says because every time she's out of my sight I holler "Shasta, what are you doing?"

"Mom? What are you looking for mom?" Apparently I'm always looking for something because she always asks me this.

"Mom, what are you saying?" She started saying this one because whenever I can't understand what she's babbling about I'll say, "I don't know what you're saying". When I say something to her she always responds with, "huh?" so I'll repeat myself. If she says "huh?" again I let out an annoyed huff because it drives me crazy that she always does it and that I always have to repeat myself. So now when I do that she says, "Mom, what are you saying?"

Anytime she wants something and she thinks I won't let her she ends her sentence with 'okay?' as if that will make me say yes. "I want go shopping, tay?"

Lately she'll ask for a snack and when I don't get it for her fast enough she says "I want it in my mouth".

Whenever I use the restroom she says, "Mommy did it! Sticker? Prize?" Gotta love potty training! Every time Nick and I go it's a celebration. And since we've been doing stickers and prizes with Shasta she thinks Nick and I need them too.

She's always talking on a pretend phone, usually a calculator, but anything with buttons works. She says, "Yep. Yep. Yep. Otay. Yep. See you later."

Nick rented 'Oz the Great and Powerful'. We're currently watching it and it's the first scene with the wicked witch and Shasta keeps saying over and over, "Oh my gosh. What's that?" It's seriously cracking me up!

Which Elf Will She Be?

Check out those pointy ears!!!

We've been trying to decide which kind of elf Shelby will aspire to be. These are what we've come up with:

a.) A Shoe Elf. Shasta would love it because, well, she LOVES shoes!

b.) A Cookie Elf. Could be fun, but it sounds fattening. Plus, it seems a little dangerous to use ovens in trees.

c.) Santa's Elf. Of course we would love this if it means extra presents!

d.) But, maybe the most promising life as an elf would be for her to marry Legolas!

I don't know, what do you think?!?

Her ears used to always be folded in half or rolled shut while she was in the NCU which I think is why they were so pointy. Now that she's bigger and they don't stick together, they've rounded out more. But she totally looks like she could be an elf in this picture!

Fun Things About Shasta

• Shasta loves being a big sister and is willing to help with whatever I let her do. She's helped feed bottles, change diapers, hold Shelby's hands while I try to get her latched (which is incredibly helpful and most of the time I ask her to do it), give baths, burp her, and hold her.

Practicing on a doll

• She loves to shower Shelby with kisses. All day long she randomly gives her kisses.

• She nurses all of her babies and stuffed animals and tells me she's feeding them. She used to lift her shirt and nurse them on her belly, but now she's a lot closer to the actual spot. She's also held the breast pump up to herself to pump milk and she's tried to nurse Shelby!!! Shelby was laying on the couch next to me and Shasta lifted her shirt and leaned into Shelby. When I asked her what she was doing she said she needed to feed her.

• She LOVES to sing. She pretty much sings all day long. She's my walking playlist! Sometimes she wants me to sing with her and other times if I start singing she cuts me off and tells me it's Shasta's turn. I'm always surprised to hear how well she knows the songs when she sings them on her own. And she knows a LOT of songs. (Baby Bumblebee, I Have A Little Turtle, We're So Glad When Daddy Comes Home, Little House, Thumbkin, I Am A Child of God, Sunbeam, ABC's, Snowman, Twinkle Little Star, Utah State Scottsman, USU Fight Song (she knows the words better than I do), Popcorn Popping, 5 Little Monkeys, 5 Little Ducks, How Much is that Doggy in the Window, and all the Baby Signing Time songs to name a few!) For a while we would sing a handful of songs as part of our bed time routine, but as she learned new songs she wanted those added to the list before bed. We would spend a good 20+ minutes singing songs, plus with all the rest of the routine it would be way past her bed time before she actually went to sleep. I finally started telling her she could have I Am A Child of God and 3 other songs. Sometimes she's fine with that and other times she begs and pleads for more songs, but we still stick to the 3 of her choice. And occasionally I'll rock her for a little while and sing every primary song I know because it's not very often that I get good, uninterrupted cuddle time with her and she loves to rock and sing with me!

• She's picked up on sign language and loves it. She almost always signs the words that she knows when she's talking. She has quite an extensive list now. (Mom, Dad, dog, cat, bear, horse, frog, fish, bird, milk, more, cereal, candy, apple, banana, sandwich, juice, drink, eat/food, hungry, popcorn, pizza, tree, leaf, grass, bug, rain, wind, snow, cloud, sky, hot, cold, shoes, socks, coat, hat, outside, day, new, up, down, play, again, water, bath, baby, doll, sign, cracker, cookie, book, hurt, time, sleep, jammies, clothes, blanket, goodnight, brush teeth, wash hands, soap, bath, again, stop, go, car, train, plane, bike, boat, stars, moon, sun, all done/finished, wait, please, thank you, sorry, and I love you). I'm sure there's more, but that's a list of 82 words! We owe most of it to Baby Signing Time. She's addicted and asks me several times a day if she can watch it.

• I was trying to get her to tell her dad she loves him so I signed, "I love you , dad". She said, "I love you, Nick". I have no idea why when I sign dad she says Nick.

• Three times she's picked up Shelby without any help. The first time I was in her room putting away laundry, Shelby was down the hall in her rocker, and Shasta was running in and out of her room. I heard Shelby fill her pants and Shasta came running in to tell me she needed a diaper change. I was almost done so I told her it could wait. I finished up and came out of her room to find Shelby on the floor next to her rocker, half undressed. The second time I was using the restroom. When I came out Shelby had gone from her rocking chair to the couch on the other side of the room. Yikes! The third time I was talking to Nick in the bedroom and Shasta was in there with us while Shelby was in her rocker in the other room. Shasta left the room and literally 30 seconds later I heard Shelby cry. I ran down the hall to find Shasta laying in Shelby's rocker with Shelby on top of her. My goodness. I have to lock Shasta in my bedroom with me when I take a shower so I know Shelby is safe!

• Shasta's into EVERYTHING. There is seriously no safe place in this house. She climbs up to everything. Bathroom counters, kitchen table, kitchen counters, kitchen bar, banister, dresser, even the shelves in the linen closet; she can get to all of it. I had a stool in the bathroom so she could sit on the potty by herself, but she carried the stool everywhere and caused way too much trouble so I took it away. But it hasn't stopped her. She climbs on top of the toilet to get stuff off the bathroom counter, she drags the kitchen chairs around to get to whatever she's after, and she's even stepped up onto a folded blanket to reach what she was after. And she causes the most mayhem while I'm nursing Shelby or pumping and lose track of what she's up to. 

• She got into the linen closet and dumped half a gallon of hand soap on the carpet. It cost me $65 to have someone come and clean it. Thankfully, I had a coupon. Otherwise it would have cost $99. Ugh.

• Since then I've caught her with the bathroom hand soap 4 different times and rubbing it all over herself. I'm seriously going crazy trying to keep her out of things.

• We started potty training a week and a half before I ended up on bed rest. She was doing awesome and then with being passed around so much and the inconsistency she stopped trying. I put her in pull ups because I was tired of all the accidents and didn't want to go back to diapers, but then she just started using them as diapers. Once Shelby came home and our lives got back to normal we buckled down and went back to panties cold turkey. It took a few days for her to get back on track, but she's back to doing awesome! I'm not sure when her last accident was during the day and she's only wet the bed twice; once at night and once during a nap. I'd like to say she's potty trained, but since I've taken away the stool in the bathroom she can't get on the toilet by herself so I have to help her every time.
  

• Before I took the stool away she would put it by Shelby's bed, stand over her and say a prayer. It's one of the most precious things I've ever seen her do! She says random prayers throughout the day and kneels at her bed with me for prayers at nap and bed time. Every time I hear her randomly say a prayer I have this image run through my mind of Heavenly Father smiling down on her!

• She loves getting dressed and wearing shoes. I've decided they should put underwear labels in the front because she always puts her panties on backwards and I think the label is the reason why.

• She asks me every single day if we can go shopping.

• Every night before she goes to bed she goes up to Shelby and says, "Goodnight, Shelby. I'll see you in the morning" and gives her a kiss!

• She's the most destructive child in the world! She tears apart everything. There was a box of unopened nursing pads sitting on my bed and while I was in the shower she tore the box to shreds. She's torn apart board books, ripped apart boxes, and today she destroyed a puzzle by peeling the backs off of the pieces.

• She loves to eat. All day long she tells me she's hungry and asks for a sandwich. I've told Nick that we won't be able to afford having boys if our girls eat this much!

• She LOVES her cousin, Meili and always asks if she can play with her!

Shelby's Two Months

My goodness time sure is flying by. Shelby is already two months old. Not much has changed in the last month.

By the time she reached 2 months:

*6lbs 5oz (6th percentile on a premie chart)

*19 inches long (9th percentile on a premie chart)

*Started nursing (finally), but it's been quite the struggle. At best she nurses once a day, but sometimes she still has to be topped off with a bottle because she gives up on nursing before she's eaten enough. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes to latch her. She likes to keep her tongue on the roof of her mouth which obviously doesn't work with nursing. I can latch her with a nursing shield, but she absolutely refuses to suck with it so we have to go without

*Premie clothes are getting small, but newborn clothes swallow her

*Passed her due date. Was due May 29th. Reached 2 months on June 8th

*Still spits up through her nose. Her doctor said not to worry about it and that there's no need for me to change my diet. If she starts acting irritated or it hurts when she spits up then it's something to fix, but for the most part she's just getting rid of what she doesn't need and it's coating her throat with an extra dose of antibodies

*Gives lots of sleep smiles, especially while she's nursing

*Possibly has a small hernia in her tummy, but her doctor thinks it'll go away over the next couple of months

*Still on a 3 hour feeding schedule, but trying to push her night feeds to every 4 hours. Sometimes she lasts and sometimes she doesn't

*Came off of oxygen on May 17th and had it officially removed from our home on May 20th after she passed her test! Three weeks on oxygen at home was WAY too long

I can't remember where Shasta falls for height, but it's on the short end. Next to Shelby she looks like a giant though!

*First newborn outfit. Thanks Grammy Tammy! She can't keep her feet in the legs and the shoulders are so big it looks like they have padding!

None of them were feeling very photogenic.

Shelby with her Lion.

Skinny little girl. She's also really hairy (as was Shasta)! Babies are covered in lanugo before they are born. They shed most of it off during the 3rd trimester, but my babies don't get the chance so they're born hairy and lose it a few months after birth.

Her newborn outfit makes her look bigger in her car seat.

And I had to include this one because I love her face! "Seriously, mom? Haven't you tortured me enough with all these pictures?" Oh honey, if only you knew.

A rocking chair comparison picture. I put her in a premie outfit because I think it shows her size better.

First Time At Hogle Zoo

We took the girls to the zoo last Saturday. Next summer it will cost for Shasta to get in and since she had never been before we wanted to take advantage of the good weather while she was still free. Did you know it costs $12.75 per adult and $10.75 per child? Seriously? That's insane! Or I'm really cheap....

What we didn't consider was it was the first weekend after school let out for the summer so it was pretty crowded. We circled the parking lot looking for a place to park for a good 20 minutes. Ugh.

It was really fun to see Shasta react to the animals, but she could only see them if they were moving. If it was asleep, laying down, far away, or little she couldn't find it. The big hits were all things swimming, elephants, rhinos, bears, giraffes, and especially the chimpanzees and monkeys!

Right in the corner of the glass there's a monkey sleeping, but she was more interested in the monkeys moving around.

We had a lot of fun, but two things made it turn ugly.

#1. We brought the car seat stroller for Shelby and the umbrella stroller for Shasta. We let Shasta out of the stroller at the first stop so she could get a better look and from then on she didn't want to be back in the stroller. Instead she wanted to push it and it was so crowded and she can't steer straight so it was really frustrating. Any time we made her stop she screamed and cried. She didn't want to walk, but she wouldn't ride in the stroller. She wanted to be carried, but not by dad, only mom. Although the weather was decent, it got hot in a hurry carrying a toddler and climbing all those hills.

#2. Shelby started getting hungry and we're not to a point where we can nurse in public under a cover. She was content to be held, but I didn't want her in the sun so we decided I would wait in the shade while Nick and Shasta finished up in the area we were in and then we'd find a bathroom for me to nurse her in. Well, while they were gone Shelby was no longer content being held. I tried calling Nick to ask if they were almost done and of course, no answer. Mommy panic kicked in so I put her back in her stroller and decided to follow the path Nick and Shasta took to see if I could find them. Nothing. It was a straight line and then you had to turn around and come back so I had no idea where they were or how I missed them. At this point Shelby was really mad so I decided to just find a bathroom without them. Once I found one there were 3 adults standing along the shade, blocking the quickest path to get into the restroom so I had to go around them. Annoying. Then I struggled to get the stroller inside the door and not one of them offered to hold the door for me. Rude. I finally got in and went to the handicap stall so there was room for me and the stroller. Then wouldn't you know it, Shelby wouldn't latch. It was SO frustrating. I was sweaty hot with her up against me, standing in a smelly, noisy, bathroom, trying to latch a baby while pinning my shirt under my chin so I could see what I was doing and she's trying to latch, but with no success. I may or may not have cried a little. Once she finally latched we were doing good, but she was taking forever, I was roasting hot, and someone emptied their bowels in the stall next to me so I cut her off and called it quits. She had at least eaten enough to finish up at the Zoo and make it home (to Bountiful for a graduation/birthday party with Nick's family) before I needed to feed her again.

Once I calmed down and was over my frustration with not being able to find Nick and Shasta we met up and finished up with the chimpanzees. It was the biggest hit with Shasta. It's a fairly small, inside exhibit and they were actively moving around so Shasta could see them at all times. And for a while it wasn't crowded so it was super nice. Then right before the room filled with people, one of the chimps decided to climb up on a branch right in front of the glass, turn his backside to us and take a dump! Shasta thought it was SO funny!!! And guess what?!? Everyday since then she's randomly brought up the pooping monkey at the zoo. She says, "Monkey POOPED! Silly monkey!" At least he left a lasting impression!

Shasta's First Real Haircut

I decided it was time to give Shasta a real haircut. She had some weird lengths that looked fine while it was down, but when I put it up you could tell there was hair that was longer than the rest. I wanted to try something new and fun for summer. Nick didn't really want me to get it cut because he would rather it just be long, but I felt like she has her whole life to have long hair so trying a new hairstyle wasn't going to be the end of the world! And if I was going to pay to have it evened up then we might as well try something fun!

I took her to Cookie Cutters in Providence and let me tell ya, that place is every kid's dream as far as hair cutting places go! The first thing you notice when you walk is the giant slide. There were three cars that she could choose from to sit in for her haircut. Of course she chose the pink car! She also got to pick a movie to watch. That's right, every station had it's own tv. The station next to us even had a Playstation. When I told Nick he said he wanted to get his haircut there from now on! (If it meant he'd get his hair cut more often then by all means...!)

Before we got started. She started getting a big ringlet right there in the middle... that's why it looks a little strange.

Here goes nothing...!

I decided to try some whooshy bangs even though I was certain I was going to regret it. They're not as short as I would like them to be. I wanted them to be a little more pixie-like. And at first I hated them just like I thought I would, but they've grown on me. When I first do her hair I love them, but as the day goes on and she rubs the hairspray out they fall across her whole forehead and I HATE that! 

I had bangs my whole childhood and was always told my forehead was too big to ever go without them. Finally, the summer going into high school I grew them out and have never looked back! I remember feeling really self-conscious, like people were judging my enormous forehead, but I eventually got over it! I also remember a time when I was in KINDERGARTEN I told my mom I didn't want bangs anymore so she styled my hair with a headband to pull my bangs back. I immediately regretted it because I looked so weird, but she made me wear my hair like that to school anyway and I was SO embarrassed. Kindergarten and embarrassed of my hair? Really?

So because of my bangs experience, I don't want my girls to be haunted by their childhood bangs! Ha!

This is the next day on our way into church. At first I hated her new haircut. It was SO different and made her look older which I didn't like at all!

It was also harder to style than I thought it would be so that was annoying and I couldn't get it to style as cute as I wanted it to.

It's gotten a lot easier to style and now goes a lot faster than when it was long.

It took me a good week to get used to it and decide I liked it, but now I love it! I haven't been able to get a good picture of it though. It's always too bright outside or we're out playing and she won't hold still, or it's the end of the day and it's lost its cuteness. Hopefully these pictures are enough for now. Sometimes I miss her natural curls, but they had to go eventually I guess.

Shelby's 1 Month

All things leading up to the day Shelby turned 1 month old.

*Spent 20 days in the NCU

*Came home on oxygen

*Left the NCU weighing 4lbs 5oz

*Weighed 4lbs 11oz a week later at her check up

*Not nursing (we only try once or twice a day as recommended by her doctor because she's so little and it tuckers her out too fast)

*Has to have at least 2 fortified bottles a day for the next 6-9 months

*Eats every three hours around the clock

*Pretty much sleeps all day long, including through her feedings which means it can take up to an hour for her to finish a bottle

*Started out eating 5ml a day. Left the hospital eating 40ml. Now up to 45ml!

*Spits up through her nose

*Stretches and grunts when it starts getting close to feeding time, but doesn't usually cry

Shasta's tiny hand showing how little Shelby is. Pictures never do her size justice.

This was the most I could get Shasta to cooperate.

I put my ring on her finger thinking it would help show how small she was, but I wear a size 4.75 ring so it didn't do much.

Size comparison with her Lion.

Size comparison with Wedge and her Lion.

This picture makes me laugh! By the way, the tape on her face is to hold her oxygen in place (in case I look at these pictures years from now and forget).

Size comparison in her rocking chair.

Shasta was so excited that I let her hold Shelby all by herself!

Pretty much the cutest picture of Shasta EVER!