Joe Lost his 2nd tooth

This happened in AZ, and we lost the original picture, but since we had Grandpa "C" in town this weekend, I thought I'd recapture the event the best I could. Really though, it was quite amazing. Joe started going around the room showing everyone how wiggly his tooth was, when Grandma "C" told him that Grandpa pulled all of Doug's teeth out, and that he was a pro. Joseph then walked straight up to Grandpa "C" and bravely opened his mouth. Grandpa reached in and in one quick movement, it was out and ready to be exchanged, through the tooth fairy express, for a paper dollar. I've never seen Joe act so calm, proud, and confident. He and Grandpa "C" make a good team.

There's a reason

I've been gaining a ton of weight while I monitor my calories, journal my food, and calculate my meals. I have hypothyroidism.

Often mistaken for depression, an under active thyroid causes lethargy (darn these stairs), confusion (no wonder), constipation (fun!), and weight gain (I'm currently heavier than the day I birthed Jennie). I now wonder if I've had it before because I've never been tested (to my knowledge). I've had all of these symptoms after each of my children. Aren't bodies crazy!

My doc was great, and gave me a prescription, that I'll likely have to take all of my life. But wait! Andy said that if I use nutrition to boost my sluggish gland, maybe it'll start working all on its own. I think that's the method I'll try first. I figure a 6 week trial of the herbal stuff should give me the information I need. I'll have my doc check my blood again, and if it works, then we're set, and if it doesn't well then I'll do the drugs.

Dalton is 8 years Old!

His birthday was fabulous!


First thing, I made him his favorite french toast for breakfast...


He then went to school where, right around lunchtime, Grandpa and Abuella brought in doughnuts for his entire class. We then let him cut the rest of school so that he could...

Spend time with Grandpa and Sophia at the Church History Museum and have a fun lunch at JB's...

Abuella then took him to the Church Distribution center where he got his first real set of scriptures...

We then headed to dinner. Afterward, Grandpa took he and Joseph to play games at the Heritage Center...

Once we finally got home at night, he found a fun gift from us, one from his good friend Valen, and an enormously generous gift from his primary teachers the Brownells.

He was so excited to use his new scriptures for our bedtime reading, he found Helaman all by himself, and then followed Dougs reading till it was his turn to read a verse.

What a great day!

Sad

ALL of our Easter/temple/Arizona/hiking/Indian reservation/Joe's tooth falling out/Jennie & Jennie/egg hunt/Emily & Jennie/cousins/brother-fat-tongue... photos got lost. I don't exactly know how, but they're gone. We had a great trip, I love all of our family. I think life should always be 75 degrees. Someday, we'll move back to Arizona, but for now, we're watching the spring snow in Utah, and still in love with life.

I need some fun!

I kinda freaked out last Friday, after being stuck in the house with Jennie's RSV, for what seemed like forever, I just needed the whole family to get OUT! Doug suggested a movie, Lew gave us the idea of ice skating, we ended up at Liberty park, and we all had a blast.

This was my favorite climbing toy as a kid. Joseph was the first to the top. Everything is a race with him.


Sophia wanted to do everything the boys could do. She handled the wild tire swinging for awhile and then begged daddy to let her off for the boys to continue their need for speed.


This climbing toy is new since I last visited Liberty park. Even Doug enjoyed it.


So I said everyone had a blast, and I'm not totally sure that's accurate. Jennie was warm, and included as much as a baby with RSV should be I guess. She seems happy no matter what we do, even when she's sick.

Curlers

I bought these new curlers for myself just to try something new. I totally failed on my hair making us late for church this past Sunday. Soph wanted to try them so badly though that she has been asking me every day for a turn. Today I had the time and patience (our power was out, thus I couldn't do any house work). She was patient too which should be noted. I absolutely loved the results, the only bummer was that almost every curl flopped during her nap. I just hope she lets me do this again.

Relaxedly Happy

I'm feeling really blessed right now. I survived the 3 days as a single mom just fine. The help of all of my neighbors, including awesome fry bread, and cheese manacotti was way more than I was expecting. All of the kids adjusted to day-light savings time like champs (way better than Doug or I have actually). My normal uptightness over the house has eased, and I'm slowly ticking away at the to-do list without it feeling like it will overpower me. My family loves me, my neighbors are great, It's gloomy outside, and I have a smile on my face. Some days, a smile is just all I need. Doug made it home safely, and was much happier to be home with us in our chaos than to be making $, and eating fancy food in Portland. Overall, my life isn't magazine page worthy, but it's good, and actually much better than some of the families who do make those pages. I feel blessed.

Mark Your Calendars

Dalton will be baptized on April 4th at 4pm at the church. If you need directions, or any other info, e-mail me with your contact info, and I'll send it on. We are so proud of his choice!

Jennie is 5 months old

Bright eyed, beautiful, not just content, but happy, and all this while she has RSV and a raging ear infection. Since we were at our Ped's office anyway, (and I forgot to take her for her 4 month well-child), we found out that she is a whopping 16.9 pounds! Now, that's a Crawford on formula! All of her 0-3 clothes are currently being packed away:( She babbles to herself in the crib, in her exersaucer, and in her high chair. She doesn't really like food yet, and that's fine with me. She sits up nicely with help, without help she'll sit for a time and then attempt a back dive as if a cushion of water will soften her bonk. She'll calm down if I say "are you ready for a bottle?" and walk towards the sink. I'm glad that she's still a baby in at least one area though, she is my first child to NOT have any teeth by this age, they all seemed to have at least 2 wee teeth by 4 months. Yea for a gummy smile! Jennie is an absolute delight.

Disaster Averted

At least once a year someone will ask, "what are you grateful for?" and twenty people will say the same things, family, friends, health.... I am grateful for all of those things, but my random response that has always been true, and really ranks up there with family is indoor plumbing. Those who know me well have probably heard that one out of my mouth a couple of times already. Sorry to be so repetitious. Today I'm actually grateful for the parts that rarely get used, like that small overflow hole just inside the front lip of the sink that's barely visible and prevents bathroom flooding. This is what happens when I ignore Soph while I blog. Usually she's innocently playing tea, so I don't worry about sound of water flowing in the back of my brain, but this time I found what could have been a disaster. Yea for thoughtful plumbers!