Shasta's 3rd Birthday

Shasta had a great birthday! I was worried she was going to be miserable all day because she went to bed not feeling the greatest. I wasn't feeling very good either and had a ton to do to prep for her birthday, but Nick helped me after he got home from work (at nearly 1am) and we got it all done. I had wanted to decorate with streamers and such, but due to not feeling good I decided to keep things simple. And I'm glad I did because we've all been sick since and all the decor would have just added to the mess that is my greatly neglected house.

She was so excited when she saw her new bike.

She was also so excited to get the movie Frozen.

She loved opening all of her presents!

Her cousin, Meili, came over and played all morning from 8am to 2pm. Shasta loved it! It was the perfect way for her to spend her birthday. We had to do all of our birthday celebrating before Nick went to work so I was worried Meili might be upset that Shasta got to open presents and she didn't, but Shasta ended up waking up at 6:30 so she opened all her presents before Meili got there! Then Meili got to show Shasta how to ride her bike (she's 6 months older), but Shasta still needs a lot of practice. Shasta was sad to see Meili go, but she apparently had so much fun that she went straight to her bed and put herself down for a nap. It's possible that her 6:30am wake-up call and cold symptoms settling in may have had something to do with it, but I'm chalking it up to playing hard!

After her nap I asked her if I could take her picture to put on Facebook. This is the pose she gave me. She was being SO stubborn. I may have threatened no pancakes for dinner to get her to cooperate...

Then she gave me this! Pancakes for dinner is a real treat. Her favorite!

Then, mom of the year over here, forgot to make her birthday cake. How is that even possible? I was planning on making it before dinner, but after the girls went down for their naps I started working on final edits to a paper for school that was due that night and worked on it clear up until I had to make dinner while Shasta watched Frozen. And it wasn't until halfway through dinner prep that I realized my mistake. It wouldn't have been a big deal except Nick works swing and if I made the cake for later that night he wouldn't have been able to be there with us.

I felt horrible. Telling Shasta was heartbreaking. She had asked me several times that morning and the day before if we could go to the store and buy her birthday cake. I kept telling her we were going to make it at home, but then once she took her nap I never gave it a second thought. When I told her we would do cake the next day she said in the saddest voice, "but it's my birthday". Ugh. She's only three and already I'm scarring her for life. I know she won't remember (until she reads it here), but it still doesn't make me feel any better knowing this is just one of many times I will screw up as her mom. But Nick talked to her about it during dinner and told her he really wanted to get to have cake with her and asked if it would be okay to do it the next day and she agreed.

We did cake the next day, but I didn't take any pictures. I cut her a piece and put the candles in it so she didn't breathe over the whole cake since she woke up feeling more sick Saturday morning. But I don't hate the idea of always doing it this way since it's kind of gross to first spit all over a cake and then dish it out for everyone to eat! Overall, I think she had a really good birthday and enjoyed getting to be celebrated the next day too! And really, between the April birthday celebration with Nick's family, the Mad Hatter's Tea Party Birthday Celebration with friends, and her actual birthday, I think it's okay that we missed out on doing cake on her actual birthday. She still had plenty of birthday celebrations during the month of April. Or maybe I'm just justifying it to make myself feel better. I guess I'll accept my Mom of the Year award now.

Shastaisms Season 2: Episode 2

Put on a pair of my high heels and said "nothing can stop me now"! I have no idea where she got that phrase from. 

Then she fell...

While talking about Wedge getting shots at the vet and how they help him be healthy and strong, "when I get little like Wedge I'll get healthy and strong too"

We got Comcast so Nick could watch March Madness. This is the first time we've had cable in over 6 years so Shasta's never really had experience with commercials (only at other people's houses where she's distracted and doesn't pay too much attention to the tv). While we were watching a cartoon for her a commercial came on and she said, "Mom, I don't like this. What's happening? What happened to my movie?"

Shasta handed Shelby a book and said, "and don't ruin the pages cuz that would make them very ruined".

"Mom, did you say 'oh crap'?"

Sometimes when she "reads" books she'll say, "once when I was a little girl I was a little girl" or "once when he was a dragon he was a dragon" or something relating to the book.

She calls her big toe her thumb toe.

Singing Bingo was his name-o with Shelby's name, instead of spelling it she was singing "S-h-a-Shelby-y"!

Started singing real songs and not just kid songs. She randomly busts out singing '1000 Years' by Christina Perry and calls it 'our song'. If it comes on the radio she says, "it's our song mom"!

I put some "baby eggs" (Cadbury Eggs) in a little cup for Shasta and she said, "why didn't you get me a lot?" I said, "I did get you a lot and if you're not happy with them then you don't need to eat them". She smiled, softly put her hand under my chin, and said, "you're the best girl ever" and gave me a hug!

While carrying her doll Lucy, she came downstairs looking for her other doll Daisy and said, "Mom, I have to get Daisy. Lucy's best friend is Daisy and she needs her".

About an hour before conference, in the most excited voice, "Mom, do we get to watch the prophet on the tv again?!" Then about half an hour later in the saddest voice, "Oh, I wish it was time to watch the prophet again". I'm sure the new coloring book and smelly markers had nothing to do with her excitement to watch conference!

Singing "I'm always human. And I crashed when I breaked down. Using my hair, using my heart, you build me up and then I fall apart cuz I'm always human." The real words to the song: I'm only human. And I crash and I break down. Words in my head, knives in my heart, you build me up and then I fall apart 'cause I'm only human.

"My tummy just hurts". "I'm sorry. Why does it hurt?" "I just have a headache." "If you have a headache then it's your head that hurts, not your tummy." "My head hurts or my tummy hurts. Those are my choices." Apparently, I've brainwashed her by always giving her two choices. (You can have this kind or that kind, those are your choices. You can give it back to Shelby or sit in timeout, those are your choices.  You can ride in the cart or walk next to it, those are your choices...that kind of stuff!) She gives herself choices all the time, but this was by far the silliest!

While eating a sucker, "sometimes I put it in my mouth and it gets wet".

After a few giant sniffs, "my nose is runnin' out boogers". 

Shasta loves using "big spoons" instead of baby ones. After I got her a big spoon for breakfast I said, "oh whoops, I need to get you a little spoon because you're a little bit little". "No, I'm a little bit little and a little bit big and a lot a bit cute. That's why I need a big spoon". Can't argue with that logic. 

Shasta asked if she could play with some baby clothes and I told her no because they're for her next baby sister. She got all excited and asked, "where is she? Can we have her?" I told her "we can't have her yet, but when we do should we call her Savannah?" "Yes, and I'll call her Anna". "Savannah Anna? That's a good choice!" "Sebannah Anna". And then she started playing with her imaginary friend and started calling her Annie and saying she's her big sister! And suddenly I realized I can get Shasta on my side for boy names and conspire against my incredibly stubborn husband! (Don't tell Nick about my scandalous plan!)

The girls and I were playing in their room when Shasta ran out to use the potty. A few seconds later I hear, "mom I pooped. Mom. I need help wiping. Mom? Hello? Is anybody in there? Mom? You comin'?" There were practically no breaths in between to even give me a chance to respond to her initial request for help!

I was just singing the song "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" from the movie Frozen and couldn't remember the next line so I asked Shasta. AND SHE KNEW IT! I didn't think she actually would, but she did! She's such a little sponge! It was the last verse too. I sang, "we only have each other" and asked what came next and she said, "it's just you and me. What are we going to do"! She's pretty much awesome! We don't own the movie. We rented it and watched it 6 times in a 24 hour period before returning it (I know, mom of the year, but it was mostly just background noise with the occasional paying attention to it) and I've pulled up YouTube videos for her maybe twice. And just from that she knew the words!

A Very Merry Birthday Celebration

Shasta and Shelby had birthdays and we celebrated with madness. Mad Hatter Madness that is. Shasta is friends with two little twin girls, Lizzy and Robyn, that also have April birthdays so we got together and threw a Mad Hatter's Tea Party for our girls. We invited all their little friends from the ward and around the Valley and had an Alice in Wonderland themed party.

The food: PB&J finger sandwiches, strawberries, apple slices, cheese and crackers, bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, and dip)

And cupcakes for dessert

The set up. I thought I took a picture of the table before everyone got there, but I guess I forgot. Every place setting was complete with a teacup, saucer, and place card (playing card). And the table was decorated with red roses, and playing cards and paper hearts scattered about)

Meili sure looks cute in her getup. We asked the kids to wear their favorite hat, but of course my girls neither one would wear one!

And since Shelby can't sit in a chair without constant supervision, she hung out on the floor eating her lunch.

Those cupcakes sure look tasty!

We planned two games; a Cakewalk, and Pin the Grin on the Cheshire Cat. Since we had so many children we decided to split them into two groups. While one group was doing the Cakewalk the other was doing Pin the Grin. Then once all the children had a turn and won a prize, we switched.

Then after we were done playing games we played the movie Alice in Wonderland (forgot to take a picture of the station) while the children waited their turn to have their picture taken. We set up a backdrop for a photo station and had props for them to hold. A big thanks to Jaime for making all the props and backdrop!

These are the poses we did. I love the first one of Shasta!

The party seemed like it would be hectic considering how many kids came (I didn't get an exact head count, but it was around 14-17 kids under 4) and we used real, breakable teacups, but overall I think it was a lot of fun and the chaos was pretty under control. I'm glad we went to the trouble and I hope we can make it a tradition to do this every year as a non-birthday party; or rather, a Very Merry Un-birthday!

Easter

Easter is one of my most favorite holidays. Maybe it's because it's in the Spring, or for the pastel colors, or because of the true meaning it holds, but I always feel so excited to celebrate and shop for Easter baskets! Our tradition is to wake up Saturday morning to Easter baskets and egg hunts so that Sunday can be left for reflecting on Christ and feeling the Spirit. Although, just now as I'm typing this I've decided I might make it so they get their new Sunday clothes on Sunday morning instead of with their Easter baskets. I don't know, I'll have to give it some more thought!

I got a little carried away, but we needed some outside toys! Originally I was going to do separate baskets until I realized pretty much everything I had was for Shasta, so I decided to do a shared basket and separate baskets with their new Sunday clothes.

I love seeing them stand at the couch to see what they got!

Shelby digging through to see what she got!

After looking through her basket, Shasta ran upstairs to change her clothes. I told her the Easter Bunny left something for her in the front yard. I wouldn't have cared if she went out in her jammies, but she was wearing footed jammies and I still needed to "hide" the eggs, so it was an excuse for me to sneak outside really quickly while she was upstairs.

Shelby and I watched from the front step while Shasta hunted for eggs.

At first she wanted to open each egg as she picked them up, but it was cold and a little rainy so I told her she needed to gather them all first and she could open them in the house. She was completely oblivious to "hunting" for them. She found all the ones in the grass, but when it came to the ones in the rocks and plants, she picked up maybe two and thought she was done. I told her she needed to keep looking, but eventually I ended up showing her where they were (right in plain sight) because she wasn't quite understanding how it worked. Oh well. Next year she'll be a pro!

Then we went to Bountiful to celebrate Easter with Nick's family and celebrate April birthdays. It just so happens that Shasta and Shelby are the only birthdays in April, so it was one of many birthday parties for them!

Opening presents. (Shelby, Shasta, Kennedy)

Clearly Shelby loves opening presents!

But she eventually caught on!

Shasta LOVES this blanket that Grandma made her. She carries it all over and always tells me it's her favorite blanket. And sometimes she says in her prayers, "thank you for this blanket that Grandma made me".

After opening presents it was time to hunt for Easter eggs! Grandma Raylene does her best to make sure it's fair for all the grandkids, so this year she separated the hunt by age groups. Shelby and Jackson were in the backyard, Ruby, Shasta, Meili, and Kennedy were in the front yard, and Gigi, Audrey, and Chloe were in the backyard up on the hill. And Grant and Ivy were content in the mother's arms... or maybe they were napping, who knows! And the more I think about it, Kennedy may have been lumped with the bigger kids. I can't remember for sure. In any case, they all loved the egg hunt, and afterwards they got to go shopping in Grandma's Easter store; a tradition that Raylene has started where she gives them fake money and they can each take a turn buying fun prizes.

Shasta collecting eggs.

Shelby participating in the egg hunt by sitting in the grass while Nick and I handed her some eggs.

Some of the girls checking out their spoils! (Shasta, Gigi, Chloe, Audrey, Shelby, Kennedy)

Shelby crawling around in the grass after all the eggs were collected. If only she would have been more interested in crawling while there were still eggs for her to gather...!

After the egg hunt it was time for birthday cake!

Shelby's cake representing a Shelby Cobra.

Shasta's cake representing a Shasta Daisy.

Blowing out the candles!

And holding her back so she doesn't dive into the cake.

Happy first and third birthday to these sweet little girls!

Nick made both of the cakes. It's kind of a tradition for him to make the birthday cakes in our house. I felt a little bad because he stayed up late working on the cakes after he got home from work at 1am, and then worked on them all morning before we went to Bountiful and even had to do some finishing touches at his parents house, and then neither cake even got cut into. There were so many treats available to munch on the whole time we were there, that by the time we got to cake nobody wanted any. Oh well, it's the thought that counts! It was a fun day celebrating Easter and the girl's birthdays.

Shelby's 12 months!

Shelby had her 12 month appointment. Her doctor had nothing but good to say about her. She's very small for her age, and even small for her adjusted age, but she's consistently growing so there's no need to be alarmed. Her head is growing the way it should and that's all we can really ask for since it houses her brain!

Weight: 17lbs 2oz (2nd percentile)
Height: 26.5 inches (1st percentile)
Head: 17.6 inches (41st percentile)

She's not walking yet, but she occasionally pulls herself up to a standing position.

She loves to share. She even takes her food right out of her mouth to share with you!

Her favorite game right now is passing a toy back and forth. She hands it to me, I hold it for a second, then hand it to her, she holds it for a second, then hands it to me. You get the idea.

Poor girl got 3 shots and her legs bruised from it. She had big knots in her legs too. The picture doesn't do the bruises justice. She wouldn't stop moving so I couldn't get a clear shot either.

She's been trying to get molars and she hasn't been a fan. Fever, runny nose, and lots of cuddles. Nick said she was really unsettled laying on him until Shasta came and sat with them and then she fell right to sleep!

She woke up one morning covered in her own puke. She didn't puke again the rest of the day, but there were a few times I thought she was going to. She spent the whole day either on my shoulder or Nick's. It's so sad when she doesn't feel good, but those cuddles certainly make up for it!

She always flips to her stomach when I put her to bed. I love this position with her knees tucked up under her.

She discovered herself in the mirror and started giving herself kisses!

It looks like she's blowing kisses, but really she's patting her mouth and making noises.

More teething.

Those darn teeth just won't pop through. I'm not complaining though...!

These shopping carts are the best! Even though Shelby looks grumpy, she still liked it. I love her arm draped on the side of the car. She's so cool!

First pigtails!

And a better view of the pigtails.

First time eating cake. She LOVED it!

She's so amazing! I'm so lucky to be her mom!