Thursday, 14 December, 2000

You didn’t really enjoy the doctor’s all that much yesterday.  In the first place, our appointments were scheduled during your afternoon nap and we didn’t even leave Dr. Berry’s office until after 3:30.  You were asleep within three minutes once we got into the car to go home.  Plus you received two shots-your MMR and chicken pox.  I hope that you will never have to experience chicken pox.  My mom said that I had them at 18 months and was miserable.

You are now almost 25 pounds (95th percentile) and 32 inches tall (100th percentile) though your head circumference is only in the 50th percentile.  You look perfectly balanced to me.  Dr. Berry says that you are perfect.

We got to hear the baby’s heartbeat.  It took awhile for Dr. Berry to find it, but he felt confident that he only found one.  Yeah!  Everything looks as though it is right on schedule.  I have my next doctor’s appointment on January 10th.

Wednesday, 13 December, 2000

Monday was your first birthday.  I looked at you often throughout the day remembering your first days of life and how much you have changed since then.  You have such a sweet personality and are truly a joy to have in our home.

We had a birthday party for you and lots of cousins and aunts and uncles came–Kings, Brad, Kevin and Candace, Lori, and Becky.  I made a tiny cake with white frosting for you to eat.  You didn’t quite get the idea of blowing out the candle but wasted no time in putting your fingers in the cake.  However, just as soon as you got cake all over your hands, you lifted them up to me to clean them.  You knew that it just wasn’t right for you to be so dirty.  Everybody else had their cake and ice cream, and then we opened presents.  Aunt Lori had to leave for the airport so we  hurried to open presents.  You got a fun light-up musical turtle, a doll, a dress, bibs, lots of stuffed animals, clothes, tub toys and daddy bought you an Elmo balloon.  You loved all of the attention but were more than ready to go to bed after everyone left.

We both go to the doctor’s today–you for a one year check-up with shots, sad to say, and me for my first prenatal checkup.  We should be able to hear the baby’s heartbeat today, though I doubt that it will mean all that much to you.

Tuesday, 5 December, 2000

The other night we drove around looking at the Christmas lights and you were mesmerized.  You sat in the back seat of the car with your head turning from one side to the other to catch all of the decorated houses on both sides of the street.  Every so often we could hear you softly whisper, “Ohhhhh. Wowwww.”   It was so precious.  I wasn’t too thrilled about putting the Christmas tree up for fear that it would be pulled over, but felt that we should knowing how wonderful and magical you thought all of the Christmas lights were.  Surprisingly you didn’t pay too much attention to it yesterday.

I have not felt as nauseated the last couple of days though I am still rather tired at times.  It is amazing to think that I am pregnant again, but I know that I should enjoy these first couple of months when I can still move and breath normally.

Wednesday, 29 November, 2000

We finally closed on the sale of our first home last Wednesday.  It took Patrick and April Matson quite some time to get all of their paperwork in order and to get their credit report cleaned up.  It is nice to have that finally taken care of.

I have been feeling so nauseated and tired for about two weeks now.   It is not a lot of fun.  When I was pregnant with you, Amy, that nausea lasted until about 14 weeks, so I am not looking forward to feeling this way for the next 7 weeks.

Last week, you and I went into my bedroom to get Daddy out of bed.  He always has a hard time wanting to get up in the morning.  We were sitting talking and asked you if you knew if our new baby was a boy or a girl.  You shook your head no as if you really understood what we were asking.  You love babies, especially watching them on tv, so it will be interesting how you take to having one at home.

You are getting braver about walking and walk along the furniture quite a lot.  Yesterday you walked across the living room while pushing your walker.  You haven’t figured out how to walk while sitting in the walker but do a fine job pushing it.

We have cut back to two naps a day.  You could still probably use three, but with three you are up until 10 pm whereas with two you are more than ready to go to sleep by 8 pm.  I try to take a nap as well in the afternoon when you sleep because I have been so tired lately.

Much to your dismay and sadness, you were weaned Friday night.  You just wouldn’t stop biting me.  You cried the next morning when I wouldn’t nurse you and only gave you a bottle.  It was rather painful for me to stop feeding you cold turkey, but I figured that was the only way.  Now, however, you have adjusted quite well.  Your two top teeth are almost through and I am sure that that is the reason for biting me so much.  I am so glad that they are nearly through because you have been rather crabby lately, not your usually pleasant self.

Tuesday, 14 November, 2000

We have had a lot of unseasonably cold weather lately as well as a lot of snow.  It is normally 20 degrees warmer this time of the year and we don’t see these kind of temperatures until January and February.  It is not my favorite because it prolongs the winter months.

Grandma Ball was visiting this weekend and stayed at our house last night.  It took you a while to warm up to all of the company with Becky and Kyle and Kevin and Candace, though you didn’t really take to anyone in particular.  Everyone wants your attention and you love to be the center of action, but you are most comfortable doing so when mommy and daddy are close at hand.

You have mastered crawling and are now pulling yourself up onto everything, especially in your crib.  You stand at the end of your crib when you are supposed to be sleeping, throw your pacifier on the floor, and cry or protest loudly until someone comes to rescue you.  It makes your going to bed moments a whole lot of fun.

Daddy leaves for Dallas on Thursday to interview with Exxon Mobil.  He received an offer from the site visit in Phoenix that he went on a week and a half ago, but it was hardly comparable with what he makes right now at Novell.  It is not likely that he will accept the Arthur Anderson offer.  He then flies to Seattle next Tuesday to meet with KPMG, another one of the Big 5 Accounting Firms.

I get up at 5:30 now to exercise.  With the weather as yucky as it has been, it isn’t so great to take you out in it all of the time, especially after your ear infection.  Plus, you aren’t so excited to be in the pack n' play for so long and start crying.

Tuesday, November 7, 2000

I think that you might be able to expect a brother or sister in July 2001.  I am not positive yet, but it’s looking more and more like that everyday.

You got sick one week ago.  I thought that it was another cold, but by Thursday you were so sick and your head was so hot.  I had Daddy come home from work to give you a blessing because you were crying and you had had a high fever for about 12 hours.  He brought one of his friends from work.

Your temperature didn’t change much and you kept waking up after I put you to sleep for the night.  I finally held you and that worked for awhile, but you wanted the best of both worlds–your bed and me.  So I took the mattress out of your bed and laid it on the floor in the study.  We slept on the floor for the rest of the night, though I think your sleep was a lot more comfortable than mine.

Daddy left for a job interview in Phoenix early Friday morning, and we were on our own.  Your temperature still didn’t break though you were a bit cooler Friday morning.  By the afternoon, you were so hot again that I called the doctor’s office and they said to bring you in and they would try to fit you in.  Your temperature was 103.7 degrees and you had a raging ear infection.  Dr. Woodmansee prescribed some antibiotics for you, and we started them right away.  We weren’t able to see Dr. Berry because he was so busy.

Your temperature still hadn’t broken by Friday night.  I knew you were uncomfortable because you would whimper in your sleep and all you wanted was for me to hold you.  (You’ve not been so snuggly since you were a newborn).  You slept a lot.  I finally called Uncle Carson to come and give you another blessing because you had had a high fever now for a day and a half.  You slept in my bed with me on Friday night.  You were crying out so often in you sleep but once you knew that I was right beside you and that you could touch me with your feet, you went back to sleep.  By morning, your fever had broken.  You haven’t had a fever since and have one more day on antibiotics.  I think you might be allergic to it though, because you have a rash on your face and tummy today.

 Daddy came home from Phoenix on Sunday afternoon.  His flight was originally scheduled for 1 pm but America West called me early Sunday morning trying to locate Chris to tell him that that flight had been cancelled and he needed to call them to get booked on an earlier flight.   He was supposed to leave at 11 am on this flight but it was delayed because one of the seats on the plane was broken.  By the time he arrived home, you were doing so much better.  Actually I had just put you down for a nap but we since you weren’t sleeping yet, we got you back up so that you could see Daddy.  Anytime he goes away for awhile, you have such a cute smile for him when he comes home.  Makes him feel good.

You have continued to get better and are now back to your raring-to-go self.  You crawl most places and are beginning to get into things that you shouldn’t.  I purchased electrical outlet covers yesterday to keep your little fingers out of the sockets.  One thing you don’t really need to experience.

You love to play in the entertainment center and open the doors beneath the tv.  You pull out the videos, and I pick them up a couple of times each day.  You are beginning to balance better when standing and like to be up and about.  My life is not going to be the same with all your wandering about.

Daddy has more job interviews in the next couple of weeks.  He will be in Dallas in a couple of weeks and then in Denver in the beginning of December.  We will just have to wait and see where life takes us.

Sunday, October 29, 2000

It is a cloudy Sabbath day and tomorrow it is supposed to snow.   It is not so much fun to have this cold winter weather.

 On Tuesday we were at the clubhouse exercising (mostly me exercising), and I was lying on the floor doing sit ups and looked up at you and noticed that you were crawling toward one of the machines.  That was the first time that you had crawled forward on your own.  You are still pretty tentative about it.  If you think that it is going to be a lot of work to get to me you start to whine while you crawl and act extremely pitiful hoping that I will relieve you from this agony.  BUT, if you see something that you want such as the doors of the entertainment center, you are more than happy to crawl to them.  I believe my life will change dramatically once you realize that you can get places and into things on your own.

You are so cute about playing peek-a-boo.  You cover your eyes kind of and smile when I say “peek”.

Daddy and I were both sick this past week.  He got sick Wednesday evening and started throwing up at the meeting he was attending at BYU.  Fortunately he was able to find a bathroom quickly and spent sometime getting to know the toilets there.  He came and crashed on the couch until I finally made him go to bed.  He had been in bed for a little while when I heard an awful noise in the bathroom. When I got there he was bending over the toilet throwing up again.  I couldn’t get too close to help him though because just looking at him throwing up made me want to throw up as well.  I could feel that my stomach was beginning to get queasy.

Chris stayed home from work and slept most of the day on Thursday.  When I woke up, I was feeling queasy still and rather low on energy, but I still went to exercise and I had you to take care of.  By you mid afternoon nap, I couldn’t take the stairs anymore nor did I feel like changing one more dirty diaper.  I laid on our bed beside Chris, both of us sick with the flu.  The positive thing though was that Chris was already beginning to feel better.  Good thing, since he had an interview at BYU at 4:30.  When he left, he took you to stay with uncle Kevin so that I could shower and rest.

I am sure that it will always be memorable for Kevin since he said you had a massively dirty diaper.  You, however, missed your afternoon nap and were rather crabby by 7:00 pm.  We tried to keep you up a little longer but that backfired on us.  You became so over tired that you didn’t fall to sleep until after 9 pm.  Poor Daddy had to take care of you and he doesn’t like to let you cry.  That was the only way to get you to fall asleep though.  You didn’t want either of us to hold you or rock you.

Daddy went to work on Friday after first going to the doctors for a physical exam and check-up followed by another interview at BYU.  It was feeling a lot better but not yet 100%.  I had very little energy on Friday or Saturday and am just today feeling better enough to want to eat.

We went to a Halloween Party at the our next door neighbors, the Fishes, on Friday night.  We carved pumpkins, ate, watched a movie and played games.  You were pretty crabby by 9 pm so I brought you home and put you to bed.  I didn’t mind since I wasn’t feeling so hot myself.
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I have decided that you need more interaction with other kids.  You don’t really know what to do with them when you get around them and actually prefer to sit in my lap.  I would prefer that you be more of a social person because I am so quiet and know how hard it can sometimes be to fit in.

Friday, October 13, 2000

Daddy has been in London this last week.  He left at noon on Tuesday and won’t be home until Sunday night after you are in bed.  He called yesterday afternoon (it was night time for him in London) and said that the weather was about the same as here-cold and rainy-but that he was enjoying himself.

When he flies in to the SLC airport he will likely be picking up Grandpa Kline to bring him for a visit.  He hasn’t seen you since July 4th and you have certainly changed a lot since then.  Uncle Kevin and Aunt Candace came to visit last night.  It has been a couple of weeks since they last saw you, and even in that short time, you have changed a lot.  Your hair seems to be growing now.  I was thinking the other day that it’s probably long enough to braid but you would hardly sit still long enough for that. 

The idea that you could possibly pull yourself up to a standing position is quite fascinating to you.  I stood you up next to the couch tonight and you would look down at your feet then slap your hands against the couch.  When I sat you down on the floor you tried to figure out how to get back up again.   I don’t think that it will take that long to learn.

It is Daddy’s birthday on Monday–he will be 25.  Yeah!  Hopefully our car insurance will go down.

Monday, October 9, 2000

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving Day.  No wonder I felt like having turkey last week.

We spent a couple of hours on Saturday in the backyard getting things cleaned up.  I planted 118 tulips and hope that I will be around to see them bloom.  It should be pretty fantastic though if they all come up.  Chris cut the grass for the last time of the season he hopes.  It looks pretty good.  It’s not that big that it becomes too big of a chore to take care of.  When you woke up, Daddy brought you outside and put you in your walker on the grass next to his tree.  You kindly started picking the leaves off for him but loved being outside. 

You are becoming more comfortable with standing and want to stand, and that I think is the key.  Before we would hold you up to get you to stand, but you were more inclined to sit.  You started clicking you tongue the other day and do so many things that are cute.  You don’t give hugs by wrapping your arms around us but rather you lean your face against my face.  Any time the train goes by you look up and says “croooooooo”.  I think “train” will be one of your first words.  You seem to know who mommy and daddy are but only says dada at this point.

Thursday, October 5, 2000

I purchased some new paring knives a couple of weeks ago and was grateful because they were so sharp and slick.  Now I am not so grateful but more careful.  On Monday I was cutting an apple and nicked two of my fingers.  Not too bad.  Yesterday, I was slicing celery and missed the celery altogether and sliced my finger–right through the fingernail even.  Sharp knives huh?  I don’t think I will need to worry about stitches, though if the finger nail hadn’t been there, I probably would have sliced the whole tip off.  My left hand looks a bit worse for the wear, but I’ll live.

We had our car in the shop for a couple of days this last week.  We were having trouble starting it and thought maybe the fuel filter was clogged and needed to be changed.  Unfortunately the ignition switch had to be replaced (a little more pricey than a filter).  We found out also that there was an alarm system installed in the car.  We never knew before and fortunately it never went off because we would have had no way of turning it off.  Somehow while they were fixing the car, the alarm became activated and they couldn’t figure out why the car wouldn’t start since the new switch was already in.  They unplugged the alarm for us and did not wire it back into the new switch.

You suck on plastic things until the whole front of your shirt is soaked with drool.  I gave you a yellow tube of Carmex that you suck on all of the time.  The red lid end goes into your mouth and the rest just hangs out.  Drool often drips off the end of the tube.  Daddy says it reminds him of one of those old Grandmas with a cigarette hanging from their lip as if they forget that it is there.  We got a few pictures of you like this.

Sunday, October 1, 2000

You have had another cold this week.  You don’t get them really badly, but still they aren’t that much fun.  Most of the time you are pretty happy even when you are sick except for later in the evening when you want to go to sleep.  You have been waking up earlier this week, which I don’t especially appreciate, but I know that sometimes happens to me when I am sick.  Daddy has been sick too, but I have been fortunate enough to stay healthy.  Knock on wood.

I think you have finally figured out how to sit up on your own.  I had been trying to teach you how to do it in the past couple of days because you cry, and, yes, even whine when you are on your tummy and can’t get up.  All of sudden you could do it.  I put you to bed this morning and when I went in to check on you when you were crying, you were sitting up in bed.  We will have to move your mattress down a notch so you can’t climb out and fall on your head.

You did fall off the couch the other day.  I was vacuuming and set you up there to keep you out of the way.  I didn’t move fast enough as I watched you look over the edge of the couch and then “boom” down you went.  You cried, but you never cry for very long when you are hurt.  Maybe it’s because you know that I will want to cuddle you.  You are definitely not a cuddler.  I see all of these Mommies with their babies fast asleep on their shoulders in church on Sunday and wish that you would be inclined to do the same thing.  No such luck.  Not only do you not like to sleep on my shoulder, you don’t like to sleep at all in church.

Today, you stayed at home from church with Daddy.  Fun for him!  When I got home he said that he would have gotten more rest if he had come to church.  It was kind of a nice break for me to have a quiet meeting but I missed both of you. 

You jabber a lot during the day and say a few consonants.  You sit and talk to me as if you are making sense.  It’s probably how I sound to you.  When you look at a book, you act as though you are reading it out loud.

I packed away some of your clothes that no longer fit.  I have some large rubber maid containers and while I filled one you sat inside the other and played.  I took some cute pictures.  You loved it and loved just being a part of things while I worked.  I think you would much rather be in the same room with me than playing with toys in another room.  Makes me feel good.

Daddy bought tickets to Portland for Christmas.  We’ll leave on the morning of Christmas Eve and come back on the 28th.  Short and sweet but his parents will be getting ready to take Aunt Lori to Ricks on the 30th so if we stayed there much longer, we would be there on our own.  Too bad that Donna and Dallin won’t still be there, but they’ll be in Utah when we get back!  Yeahhh!

After our especially cold weather last weekend, the weather has warmed up nicely.  I wasn’t quite ready for cold weather yet.

Friday, September 22, 2000

You had your nine-month checkup on Wednesday with no shots.  Happy day for you!  You now weigh 22 pounds and you are 29 ½” tall.  You are in the 100th percentile in everything, which is good because you are growing proportionally, but you are going to be tall.  I wouldn’t mind knowing what that’s like.

You don’t always laugh a lot, and we have to work with you sometimes just to get a little bit of a laugh out of you.  But, one morning I was in the kitchen eating breakfast and suddenly hear you laughing.  I peak through the opening between the kitchen and the living room so that I don’t distract you and watch as you laugh at a tv show.  It was some silly hand puppets blowing bubbles and you thought they were pretty funny.  They must have been to get you to laugh.

The weather has changed dramatically in the last couple of days.  It was so nice for so long and then suddenly the cold air came rushing in.  We are supposed to even have snow in the mountains this weekend.  The trees are beautiful colors of reds, oranges and yellows right now but that probably won’t last very long.

You have learned the cutest little dance where you shake your head and shoulders and arms.  While you eat in the kitchen I turn on the radio–it’s been classical music lately–and you just start moving to the beat.  You smile at me as we both dance away.

I am trying to teach you how to sit up from a laying down position.  You have done it on your own a couple of times but you’re still learning.  You still scoot backwards or roll around the floor but you haven’t gotten into crawling yet.  That’s fine by me.  We did buy a pack n' play, and I take it with us in the morning over to the clubhouse for you to play in while I work out.  You actually are much happier in it than when I put you on the floor.  It’s a lot for me to take over just to work out, but it’s worth it for me to get the exercise.

You are becoming quite a screamer.  You don’t understand the concept of whisper but can express yourself with quite a vocal range.  Not wonderful, especially when you do it in church.  I hope it is just a stage of development and exploration and that you will grow out of wanting to do it so often.  I try not to call Daddy too loudly when I am in a different part of the house than him because you seem to take great interest in what I am doing.  You can be such a stinker at times.

Thursday, September 7, 2000

We took you swimming again last night soon after we finished supper.  You are becoming quite a little fish in the water.  You have learned how to get your face wet and spit the water out of your mouth instead of swallowing it.  Your little bottom and legs wiggle around as we move you through the water.  We have to keep moving because the water is kind of cold–even though it’s supposed to be 82 degrees–but after about 25-30 minutes your little lips start to shiver.  I love being able to go over at any time to swim or exercise.

Wednesday, September 6, 2000

Our clubhouse is now open as of Sept. 1 and we took you swimming in the pool on Monday morning.  It was the Labor Day holiday so even though Daddy was working, he was just on call at home and was able to come with us.  While we were there, I called Aunt Susan and she got all of her family out of bed and brought them swimming too.  Kaden was so amazed that we could come swimming any time we wanted.  This morning I took you over to the clubhouse while I worked out on one of the exercise machines.  You played on the floor with your toys and watched tv while I exercised.  We will probably need to get some sort of pack n' play when you begin to get a little more mobile.  I am looking forward to getting into much better shape.

Thursday, August 24, 2000

You had a fantastic milestone of using the potty on Tuesday night.  You only have a dirty diaper once every 5 to 7 days and today was about that time.  So when you were having a bath and I saw a few floaties in the tub, I quickly took you out of the tub and sat you on the toilet.  You had no problems finishing there while I held on to you.  What a big girl you are becoming!  If only you would do that every time.  Chris cleaned out the tub and washed your toys, filled the tub with water again and back in you went.  The things you find amazing when you have children.  Sorry to those of you who would rather not know.

Chris starts back to school on Monday the 28th and only has classes on Monday and Wednesday.  One from 8 to 9:30 and the other from 2 to 3:30.  Too bad they couldn’t be back to back, but oh well.  We are just happy that he only has two more semesters.   YAAAAAA!

I just talked to Chris a little while ago and Novell is having to lay some people off.  His boss, Michelle, has reassured him that his job is secure.  That is a relief.  As far as Chris’ next week-long trip to London, we haven’t made any decisions yet nor is it even definite that he will even be going.

We just returned from Kiddie Kandids where we had your picture taken.  You looked so cute with your denim hat, denim shorts, purple shirt and brown teddy bear.  I hope that they turn out.  We will hopefully be able to give some of these as birthday and Christmas gifts to Grandmas and Grandpas.

You are eating a lot of “big people” food now.  Last night you had macaroni and cheese and peas.  You love most fruit except for mashed-up bananas–but they make me shudder at times too.  It was one of the few foods that I couldn’t eat while I was pregnant with you.  You love cheerios, yogurt, bread, beans, peas, peaches, pears, applesauce, apple juice and popsicles, most of all.  You can thank Daddy for that one. Last night your lips were purple from a popsicle but it really looked as though you were freezing with hypothermia.

Unless you fall asleep while nursing at night, we usually say prayers before you go to bed.  You used to just play while I prayed, then you would play with my face fascinated that I was talking to you with my eyes closed, but now you will sit quietly as I hold your arms folded across your chest.

Tuesday, August 22, 2000

We are back from Tahoe and I must say that I was ready to come home.  Being a mom on vacation is not much different from being a mom at home.  We left last Sunday at noon and finally arrived in Truckee, California around 9:30ish.  The drive is about 9 hours and we stopped along the way to give you a chance to be out of your car seat and to eat the lunch I had packed.  You were so tired by the time we arrived, so I fed you while Chris set up the play pen we had borrowed from Susan.  You were off to sleep until about 7:30 the next morning–actually 6:30 local time.

We kept pretty busy throughout the week with little excursions.  On Monday we drove down to Lake Tahoe which is about 20-25 minutes away from where we were staying.  We stayed in a little town called Truckee which is basically in the middle of a lot of history with the Donner pioneer company.  The cabin we stayed at, which is more like a house, is a 7 minute drive up the mountain which is a great ski resort in the winter.  The Olympics were once held at Squaw Valley which is about 10 minutes from Truckee.  Lake Tahoe is a huge lake and small towns surround the entirety of it.  It would probably take at least two hours to drive around it. I would say that it is a great playground of the rich with their humongous house/cabins, SUVs, boats, skis, etc.

On Tuesday, we found a farmer’s market.  It moves from place to place each day and this day it was in Truckee.  They had purple peppers and any other variety you could think of.  They had all kinds of varieties of peaches, nectarines, plums, and watermelon.  These people do a lot of cross breeding or whatever you call it and have come up with orange watermelons and white ones.  They were rather tasty.  We bought some freshly picked peaches, walnuts, blackberries, and a white watermelon or something. Plus we got to sample lots.  It was fun.  Truckee also has a small outlet mall–no more than 15 stores-but we had fun looking and both Chris and I bought a new shirt.  Nothing for you here, but we did buy you some plastic measuring spoons in the small shops downtown.  The things that you would least expect to be a toy are sure to be your favorite.

Wednesday was our 3rd anniversary.  It is amazing that three years have passed already.  Life has changed so much.  We spent the day driving around some more and decided to go check out a little town called Sierraville.  It was supposed to have a ward there, but we didn’t find one.  It was much smaller than Stirling.  I think the population was just over 300.  On our way back we stopped at a picnic area where part of the Donner company stayed and many lost their lives.  They had a built an “interpretive center” of a kind with informative plaques at varying places along a 1/3 mile circular path.  We walked past some of the trees where they had set up camp.  It snowed so much that year, that the snow was 12 feet deep and many of the trees which are now dead had been chopped down for firewood just above the snow line.  The descendants of the Donner family had just planted a new tree on August 6, 2000 to replace one of the trees that had finally fallen over, and placed a new plaque along the path. It is so sad what these people had to endure and I find myself wondering why.  The elevation where we were was over 8000 feet and these people had to climb without the aid of nice smooth highways.  It must have been terribly disheartening.

Since it was our anniversary, Chris took us out to dinner.  Not as romantic with cheerios and booster seats, but it was fun.  We went out for Chinese food and you liked the rice, but not so much the sweet and sour sauce that Chris would put on your cheerios.  You are a good sport though and will eat most anything.  Daddy gave you olives the other day.  Sometimes you scrunch up your face and your whole body shudders, but you don’t spit anything out even if you don’t like it.  The only thing you ever spit out was a piece of peach that you had bit off that was too big for your mouth.

On Thursday, we drove into Reno and found a Wal-mart.  We were able to find some blue, red and yellow sandals for you.  We couldn’t find a park anywhere so we stopped outside the airport to have lunch and watch the airplanes come and go.  We decided to drive another way back to the cabin through the Sierra Nevada mountains.  We reached the highest point of about 8900 feet.  The posts along the side of the road were at least 12 feet high.  Can you imagine the snow they must get? 

You are always glad to get home and out of that darn car seat.  You have been uncharacteristically crabby at times this week and when I felt your lower gum I could tell why.  Your first tooth had pushed through!  That explains all of the drool.  You also are not used to your sleeping arrangements and had to be rocked to sleep most nights.  (When we arrived home on Monday night, I walked in to your room with you and when you saw your bed, you smiled.)

On Friday, we didn’t do much of anything. Basically we decided to stay home and relax. We had a couple of movies to watch and found ourselves not feeling so wonderful.  We both had a headache for most of the day.  Unfortunately Chris’ turned into the full-blown stomach flu.  We still made it into Sacramento on Saturday, but he was feeling out of sorts for most of the day.  I’m surprised he wanted to go in the first place.  It was about an hour and a half away.  We stopped in Old Sacramento which is a tourist spot comprised of lots of fun little shops, a train depot, restaurants, some museums, horse and carriage rides, etc.  We spent a couple of hours there, especially since you had fallen asleep, and we had interrupted your naps enough that we wanted you to keep on sleeping.  After we left there, we looked for a park, but weren’t successful in finding one.  Chris made a wrong turn that took him back onto the freeway and we decided to head for home.  We stopped at Target in a place called Roseville, I think, and bought some diapers, baby food and a toy for you–one of those stacking, multicolored doughnut-shaped things.  You like it and though you aren’t into stacking them yet, you are pretty good about throwing them about the room.  Some of that you learned on your own, some your dad taught you.  We stopped at a Marie Callendar’s for supper but neither Chris nor I were that hungry.

Chris was really sick on Sunday.  We had planned to go to church in King’s Beach, or something like that, but Daddy was so sick and didn’t stray to far from the bathroom.  He slept all morning and most of the afternoon.  Poor guy.  What a way to spend your vacation.
 

We had planned to leave on Monday morning and hoped Chris would be feeling better by then.  He was still a bit queasy on Monday, but I think we were all ready to come home.  Chris stopped at Rite Aid for some medicine, and we were on our way around 11:30.  We stopped a couple of times for lunch and supper and time to just stretch.  We didn’t get home until a little after 10 pm.  You were so good.  I could tell you were tired of being in your seat and you fussed a little but not so much.  You is quite a patient little girl.  You had a late nap and were then up until 10:30.  Poor thing.

Tuesday, after we arrived home, was spent doing some recuperating, though I have done more cleaning and laundry than anything.  Chris had today off as well which is good because it has given him a chance to get better fully.  We ran errands and worked non-stop for most of the day.  Tomorrow it will be nice to get back into a routine and to get back to exercising.  I have missed it.  I noticed that your other bottom front tooth has poked through today and you continue to have your crabby moments.  I often call you “crabby girl”–as a term of endearment mostly because you don’t get crabby often.

Friday, August 11, 2000

You are eight months old today.  You are growing up so fast.  You come up with some pretty interesting sleeping positions lately.  You are able to scoot yourself around, and I often find you sleeping in the opposite direction, sideways, or on your stomach. We are so grateful to have you in our home.  You are learning so much all of the time.  You have no problem sitting up now and can reach for things that are far away and then pull yourself up again.  You are working on moving from a sitting position to being on your stomach but still have a hard time figuring out how to get your feet in the right position.  You are able to scoot backwards quite well when on your stomach, but that is often frustrating because you back yourself into things and you are going in the opposite direction that you want to go.  We have a jolly jumper that we have put you in a couple of times but it doesn’t seem to be your favorite thing.  You are getting better about using her legs and strengthening them.

We applied for a passport for you last Monday the 7th.  Daddy might have the opportunity to go to London to conduct some training in October so we wanted to be prepared in case we decided to take you. We still aren’t sure what is happening, or even if I will go.  We had your picture taken and you just sat up on the little box and stared at the camera.  You are so cute.

Chris is taking a final right now and will then have a couple of weeks until the Fall semester begins–only two more semesters to go!!!  He will be taking two classes this fall, both are on Monday and Wednesday, though one is at 8 am and the other is at 2 pm.   It is sure nice to have him back home.  He has been working a different schedule–6 am to 5 pm, Wednesday through Saturday–so it has been nice to have him home Sunday through Tuesday.  It has given him a chance to relax and even read a book.

We are leaving for Tahoe on Sunday afternoon.  We are going to go to church at 9 am (not our ward) and then we will leave afterwards.  We won’t be back until the next Monday.  It will be nice to get away and relax some more.  I am looking forward to the wonderful farmer’s markets we found a couple of years ago when Daddy and I went the first time, and Chris would like to do some hiking.  We might even go into Sacramento since it is only a couple of hours away.  Reno doesn’t hold much allure for us (it is 20 minutes away from Truckee where we will be staying), so I doubt that we will spend much time there.

It is our anniversary in a week and it is hard to believe we have already been married for three years.  We have had so much fun and experienced very many changes.  Life has been and continues to be great for us, and we are so blessed.

Sunday, August 6, 2000

Chris’ Mom and Dad drove to Provo last week (July 25th) and stayed with Kevin and Candace throughout that week.  They came to see you on Saturday afternoon and then on Sunday we went to Kevin and Candace’s for dinner.  Chris’ dad had to fly home on Sunday so that he could go back to work and Jenni had flown in earlier in the day to spend the week.  Grandma Ball came to stay at our house on Tuesday and stayed until Friday morning.  Jenni stayed at Aunt Becky’s house every night until Thursday night.  We have had a quite a busy house for the past couple of weeks.  I must say that it is nice to get back into a routine.

Sunday, July 30, 2000

We dropped Daddy off at the airport on Sunday afternoon–July 23rd–for a week-long training in Washington, D.C.  That was probably the longest that we have been apart and I don’t enjoy it very much.  After going to the airport, you and I drove to Uncle Brad’s where my mom and dad, Uncle Dallin and Uncle Shane were all staying.  Uncle Mitch was leaving from the SLC airport on Monday morning for his mission in Finland, and we were all going to see him off.  Uncle Dallin flew in from Oregon to be with us all.  Since Shane had just returned from his mission, he hadn’t seen Mitch in over two years.  Our time together at the airport would be the first time that all of my family was together in many, many years.  I can’t even remember the last time we were all together.

I borrowed Susan’s play pen and we also stayed over at Brad’s house.  You were not so good about going to sleep in a new environment and I had to rock you to sleep every time I put you down.  You would cry and cry and cry.  I stayed up talking with Brad, Shane, and Dallin that night. and we had a lot of fun together, but when we finally went to bed, you were woke up and didn’t go back to sleep for two hours.  I am glad that you don’t do that very often.

We left for the airport around 9 am the next morning-July 24th-and found Mitch at the Delta check-in desk.  He looked very good and was even quite tan.  I didn’t get to see him and Shane hug which I was sad to miss, but it was fun to see him nevertheless.  Once Mitch was checked in, we walked to his departure gate and found seats.  You and I spent the first 20 minutes in the restroom so that I could nurse you and then change.  When we came out Susan and her family were there.  Kaden was so sad that he couldn’t come close to you but he had a cold.  Your other cousins were just as glad to see you.

We spent a couple of hours with Mitch until his flight left around 11:45.  We took pictures and talked and laughed.  You had missed your morning nap and were kind of crabby, so finally I covered your stroller with a blanket and walked with you until you fell asleep.  By then it was time for Mitch to go.  I cried as we hugged goodbye.

After we left the airport, we all went to lunch.  We had planned to go to the Spaghetti Factory, but it didn’t open until 5 pm, so we ended up at the Hometown Buffet.  The selection wasn’t as good as Golden Corral, but passable.  I took you into the bathroom before lunch to feed you and was sitting on a chair in the handicap stall when a girl about 8 years old was curious to know what I was doing.  I watched her try to peak through the cracks but when she couldn’t get a good view she climbed up on the toilet and peaked over the top of the stall.  I knew what she was doing and watched her until her little head poked over the top.  I said “hi” and she left the bathroom in a big hurry.  After lunch, Shane drove back to Brad’s with us and Brad, Dallin, Mom, and Dad went shopping to Walmart, I think.  You fell asleep on the way and were so pooped that you didn’t even wake up when I got you out of the car seat and carried you into Brad’s house.  I laid you down on his bed and you had a big smile on your face.  I was happy because you slept for about an hour.  We left Brad’s house around 5:30 after I fed you again, and since it was a holiday, the traffic wasn’t a problem at all.  You slept all of the way back to Provo and was happy to be back at home and into your own bed again.

Mom and Dad and Shane came to Provo about 6 pm on Tuesday.  I hurried to make some supper and we all basically relaxed for the evening.  Dad came on a walk with us the next morning and learned not to eat breakfast before walking on subsequent mornings.  I think I pooped him out but he kept a good pace.  You and I stayed home while everyone else went shopping on Wednesday.  We were just as happy not to be out in the 100 degree weather.  Brad came to Provo on Wednesday evening and went to the Provo temple with Mom, Dad, Shane and Susan.  I would have liked to have gone, but it was bed time for you. 

Friday was Jenna’s baptism.  It was nice to have a small family affair.  Brad came up after work to join us for dinner.  You and I went home by ourselves that night and Brad, Dad, Shane and Mom headed back to SLC.  Saturday was a pretty quiet day for us with an emptied house, and I spent most of the morning cleaning.  Not so much fun...but then Chris was coming home, so I had his arrival to look forward to.

Daddy finally arrived home Saturday the 29th or rather Sunday morning at 1 am.  We sure did miss him all week long.  When he finally got home he was so tired.  His body was used to DC time which is two hours ahead of us.  Plus, he had an awful day getting home with his flight being cancelled with American Airlines.  That was just the beginning.  He was able to get a flight on Delta and reroute a bit but was bumped once and his next flight was over an hour late.  When he finally got on the flight he was dismayed to find that one of his seat companions was a 350 pound man who also took up half of his seat too.  Chris said it was the worst flight of his life because he couldn’t even move an inch.

When I brought you in to see Daddy this morning you were a bit tentative and weren’t quite sure who daddy was.  After a week of not seeing him, it took you about 10 minutes to warm up to him.

Unfortunately you now have a cold.  Susan kept telling me that Kaden’s cold really was allergies, so after spending a week around him, you became sick.  I thought at first you might just be teething, but you have been sneezing all day and have a runny nose.  I feel so badly for you.  You woke up on Sunday night because you couldn’t breathe and anything I did really didn’t help.  I tried propping up your mattress, but you just slid down to the end of the bed and I tried holding you.  You usually like to sleep on your side and you would try to roll over while I was holding you and found that you couldn’t.  The only position you would sleep in was if I was holding you standing up.  It was so frustrating for you and pretty tiring for me.  After crying for over an hour, we finally decided to give you some medicine.  We weren’t exactly sure how much to give you but knew you needed something.  We went to Walmart on Monday to find out what would be best to give you and the pharmacist told us to give you a 1/4 tsp of Walmart’s dibromm elixir–exactly what we had given you the night before.  You can’t tell me that angels don’t watch over little ones and inspire parents in taking care of them.  Daddy also gave you a blessing and you went right to sleep for the rest of the night.  That was the only night that you woke up while you were sick.  We continued to give you the medicine for a couple of days until your cold cleared up.

Yesterday when you were sucking on my finger I noticed a bump on your gum on the top and to the side.  It looks as though you will be getting an incisor pretty quick–even before the bottom two which are getting kind of close.  No wonder you like to chew on your hand and my hand.  You do a lot of raspberries which adds even more to the amount of drool that ends up on your shirt.  Combine that with your cold from last week....Drool and a runny nose ain’t a pretty sight.

Monday, July 17, 2000

Daddy had to work yesterday, so you and I went to church by ourselves.  I am glad that I don’t have to do that often.  You are pretty well-behaved, but it does get kind of tiring after awhile.  Plus you were pretty noisy.  It was fine during the songs but you kept “singing” long after.

You have learned a new word, though I don’t think you make any connections with the words you say and what they mean.  Chris will be happy to know that you can say “da da”.  You also say “hey” a lot.  I think that’s because we say it to you all of the time.  You sit up very well by yourself now and rarely fall over.

Thursday, 13 July, 2000

We left Provo about 3:30 pm on Tuesday the 4th.  Grandpa Kline wanted to be to the airport by 2:30 so Kevin and Candace took him.  Daddy had made reservations for us in Dillon, Montana a couple of weeks ago so that’s where we were shooting for.  We made pretty good time all of the way.  By the time we reached Pocatello we were all ready to eat so we stopped at one of their parks.  The weather was beautiful–perfect for a picnic.  We spread a blanket on the grass and let you stretch out while we ate.  Two little chipmunks circled around us as we ate trying to find food.  Since there had been plenty of picnics during the day they were pretty successful.  Chris threw grapes to them, but they didn’t seem too interested.  Daddy took you over to the swings after we finished eating but they weren’t all that thrilling for you.

I took you back to the car to feed you and daddy went to check out the swimming pool.  We got to Dillon (about half way between Provo and Stirling) about 10:30 pm–just in time to see the fireworks.  Actually we could see them from the freeway as we drove closer and closer.  You had already been sleeping for a couple of hours but woke up when the car stopped (it happens every time).  While Daddy was getting the key to our room, I pulled you out of your seat to watch the fireworks.  They instantly mesmerized you and continued to do so for about 15 minutes.  We headed to our room to unload and get you to bed.  I set up the crib that was waiting in the room, fed you, and put you back to sleep around 11:15 or so.  You slept for the night.  After breakfast the next morning, we were on the road again by about 10:00 am.  We drove into Stirling on Wednesday around 5 pm.  I can’t say who was more glad to get out of the car–you, me or Chris.  We broke the trip up into two days mostly for your sake, and I think it was a good idea.  You are a great traveler, but any more than seven hours gets to be hard on anybody.  I sat in the back with you for most of the time which you seemed to appreciate. 

Mom already had dinner ready to go for us when we arrived so we sat out on the deck and enjoyed chicken and potatoes.  Uncle Brad was there also-he flew in on Saturday night and spent a couple of days with mom and dad camping in Waterton.

My mom was rather anxious about seeing my brother, Shane who was returning from a mission in Tucson, Arizona, and tried to keep herself busy Wednesday night until the scheduled arrival of his flight at 10:20 pm.  You went to sleep around 8 pm but we decided to wake you up and take you with us to the airport.  What a trooper.  We left for the airport around 9:50 and waited probably 20 minutes for Shane’s plane to land once we got there.  Uncle Eldon and Aunt Pat and Granny were also there.  Shane was about the 5th person off the plane and came through the double doors into the waiting area and right into Mom’s arms.  I hope it’s okay to say that Shane’s eyes were rather teary.  He hugged Dad next and then everyone else came after.  I hope that my pictures turn out. It always gives me the impression that our Father in Heaven must feel this way when his children return to heaven and have been faithful.  “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”  Shane seemed somewhat overwhelmed, and so we picked up his bags and headed home.  As soon as we got home I put you back in bed and you went right to sleep.  What a sweetie you are.

We didn’t do much on Thursday besides relax; the weather wasn’t so great.  Chris was restless to do something by Friday.  We went to Calgary but in two separate cars.  Mom and Brad wanted to go shopping, and we didn’t.  So once we got there, Dad and Shane squished into the backseat of our car and we headed downtown.  Chris wanted to see the Calgary tower. $7 just to ride the elevator to the top.  It wasn’t worth it in any of our opinions.  But we did get to see the fair grounds (it was the first day of the Calgary Stampede) and a few other sites.  We walked down one of the streets that had been closed off to traffic and by that time we needed to go back and meet Mom and Brad.  Mom, Dad and Brad went to the airport, and Shane came with us.  Chris wanted to drive around and see things.  Shane saw a Sears outlet and asked us to stop so we did get in a few minutes of shopping. 

On our way home Shane wanted to stop at Pier 49 for dinner.  Unfortunately they were understaffed and a huge group arrived just before we did.  We ended up waiting for our meal for about 45 minutes.  I fed you out in the car while we were waiting and by the time we got home you were ready for bed.  Susan and family had arrived about a half hour before we did so the house was bustling with child energy.

Chris took you swimming on Saturday.  You appeared to enjoy yourself but was somewhat careful and tentative about the whole thing.  You got some mouthfuls of water, and Daddy dunked you once without realizing it, but all in all you were happy to be in the water.  It will be fun to have the pool in our clubhouse when it is finished in a month or so.  You were in the water for 45 minutes maybe but that seemed to wipe you out for the rest of the day.  You had a few good naps and were more than ready for bed by 7:30.  Chris and I drove to Lethbridge after you went to sleep to pick up some groceries and to drive around.

Sunday was a great day for Shane’s homecoming at church.  His talk was great and a lot of family came to support him.  Unfortunately, we had to leave.  Daddy needed to be back to work by Tuesday, and we didn’t want to drive the whole way on Monday.  We had planned to leave by three but didn’t pull out until 5 pm.  I kind of expected that would happen.  We drove to Butte and stayed in the Comfort Inn there.  We ate breakfast at the hotel–it was complimentary–and then were on the road again by 10 am on Monday.  Traffic was perfect until we got to Utah and then it was immediately heavier.  We drove through Salt Lake during rush hour but still made pretty good time.  We got home about 7 with a few stops along the way.

You are more than 7 months old now and growing fast.  You are able to sit up pretty well on your own with only a few tumbles every day and you learned to say “bye bye” or a version of it as we were leaving Grandma’s.  Maybe because you were hearing it so much as we were in the process of leaving.  You are so sweet.  You even takes your nasty vitamins every day without complaint.  We sure do love you.  Helen Hartley, a friend of mom’s and one of my former bosses, said to me on Sunday that she wasn’t sure if Chris was my husband or not but was certain that you had to be my baby after just one look at your face.  Everyone loves your cute face and curly top.  Especially me.

I look forward to seeing everyone together in a couple of weeks as Mom and Dad and Shane drive down for Mitch’s departure from the Salt Lake airport to his mission in Finland.  Dallin will also fly in for a couple of days and it will be the first time in a long time that our family will have been together.  Chris unfortunately will be in D.C. that week and has to work straight through until then–even Saturday and Sunday.  No fun for us.

Tuesday, July 11, 2000

We just got back from our trip to Canada.  It was nice, but I do wish that we could have spent a little more time and had a chance to go to Waterton Park.  Before we left for Canada though, Grandpa Kline came to visit and see our new house.  He arrived around 4 pm on Monday the 3rd.   All three of us went to the airport together to pick him up.  Daddy was on call on the 3rd and the 4th all day long but didn’t have to go into work.  After picking Grandpa up we drove into downtown Salt Lake and they went to surprise Kevin while I stayed in the car to feed you.  Kevin decided to come home with us instead of on the bus and we were crowded in the backseat.  Candace finished classes around 7 pm and came over to our house then.  For dinner, Chris and Grandpa went to pick up pizza as well as some groceries and movies.

On Tuesday morning, we opted not to go to the parade and instead hiked up Rock Canyon.  You weren’t enjoying yourself in the backpack too much so Daddy and you and me left early and Kevin, Candace and Grandpa hiked a little longer.  We had lots to do to get ready to leave for Canada before 4 pm.  We stopped at Fred Meyer to pick up some groceries as well as a water timer for the hose in the backyard.  We didn’t want our new grass to die while we were gone.

Monday, June 26, 2000

You are six and a half months old.  It is amazing how quickly time passes.  You do so many fun things and are delightful to be around.  Even in church you are mostly well behaved.  Yesterday you slept through most of Sacrament Meeting, you played on daddy’s lap in Sunday School and in Relief Society I laid you on the floor and you played most of the time.  You have such a sweet disposition.

Yesterday we invited Kevin and Candace and Becky and Kyle over for dinner to celebrate Becky’s birthday.  You are quite the life of the party now.  You did your scrunchy nose thing quite often and everyone laughed.  We got some good pictures.

Grandpa Kline might come for a visit next week.  If so, he will come on Monday morning and then we will drop him off at the airport on our way home to Canada.  We leave on the 4th.  Perhaps we will get to see fireworks on the way.

Thursday, June 22, 2000

You only cried for about 10 seconds when you got your shots yesterday.  You were such a brave girl.  The nurses even said how good you were, and as always, that you are so cute.  It’s true.

You have grown an inch and a half and gained a few ounces.  You now weigh 18 lbs 15 oz and measure 28 inches in length.  The doctor says you will be tall and skinny.  Yeah for you!  You’ll outgrow me before you’re two at this rate.  Love ya.

Wednesday, June 21, 2000

Donna had her baby on Monday the 19th.  She was only in labor for less than 5 hours.  Wade was 20 ½ inches long and weighed 9 lbs 5 oz.  Whew.  Big baby.  Both Donna and Wade are doing fine and should be going home from the hospital today.  I am sure that Donna is glad that at least the pregnancy part is over with, though the first couple of months with a newborn are pretty exhausting.  Too bad they aren’t closer so that we could help them out.  Donna’s parents are driving out on Monday to spend some time.

You didn’t have your doctor’s appointment last week because Dr. Berry was called away to the hospital on an emergency, so we get to go today.  Unfortunately last week when they called me, I had already given you painkiller for the shots.  You were so sleepy all afternoon.

We borrowed a fun toy from our friends the Mattsons.  It is a car that you can sit in and play with a lot of toys and gadgets that are attached.  I am hoping that it will help to strengthen your legs some because you just don’t have any strength for standing, even when I hold you up.  Maybe you are just spoiled and would rather be held.  By the way you are crying in your bed right now, I would tend to believe that is true.

You have started to scrunch up your nose and make some pretty funny looking faces at us.  You are developing quite an opinion of some things.

Monday, June 12, 2000

 

Chris’ sister, Lori, is graduating from high school on Wednesday the 14th.  Chris has a Southwest airlines pass and thinks that he will fly out.  We won’t be going with him.

You have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday as well, which means more shots for you.  You never like them (who does?), but you are so good about it.  At your four-month check up you were 26 ½ inches long, and I think that you have grown some since then.  You seem as though you are going to be very tall.

You are learning how to sit up on your own.  You’re still rather wobbly but you get steadier every day.  You are sleeping right now and usually for your first morning nap you only sleep 45 minutes, but you have been asleep for an hour and a half already.  The weekend must have pooped you out.

Aunt Donna is ready to have a baby any day now.  She is having a boy and he is already named Wade.  Actually his full name will be Dallin Wade Rice—the same as his dad.

Wednesday, May 31, 2000

It has been awhile since I last wrote and a lot has happened in that time.  We moved on May 5th  and 6th, but that wasn’t without a lot of stress.  Less than two hours before we were supposed to close on our new home, the mortgage company decided they wouldn’t honor the interest rate that we had agreed upon, but would be happy to give us a new loan at a ½ % higher.  We had to put off closing and Chris began scrambling trying to find someone else who would finance our loan.  When he called to tell me that all of this was happening, I just couldn’t believe it.  I was sick to my stomach and so disappointed.  We had already had so much disappointment with the other house that we lost, that I couldn’t believe it was happening again.

Another immediate problem was that we had told Patrick and April Mattson, the people who are buying our house, that they could move in over the weekend of the 5th and 6th–as we were moving out supposedly.  They had moved all of their stuff out of their BYU apartment on the 2nd and into study and we had moved everything of ours from the study down into the dining room.   We were pretty cramped all week long.

The builder was kind enough to let us move in to our new house without closing if we would pay rent until we closed.  We had a bunch of people come and help us move Friday night and finished most of it then.  We slept at our old house that night and began moving again in the morning.  My job was cleaning and of course taking care of you, though Karra did come on Friday night to watch you while I was busy packing and moving.  Patrick was so helpful in helping us move, he probably did more than anyone else.  Perhaps he had a greater incentive–the sooner we moved, the sooner he could move his family in.  After we moved all of our stuff, Chris went back to help Patrick move his stuff out of the extra bedroom.  We are glad that they are moving in to our house; we like them so well that we wish we were closer neighbors.  They also have a little girl who is 8-months old named Kaitlyn.

Chris was successful in finding a mortgage company that would completely take over our loan and we were finally able to close on Wednesday the 10th.  What a roller coaster ride the last couple of weeks have been.

We were the only ones who had moved into this part of the development for about three weeks.  The house on the other end of our building was finished at the same time as ours, but it is now available.  I guess things fell through with the bank.  We certainly know how frustrating that can be.  We weren’t even getting any mail for a couple of weeks yet or any cable.  We got two fuzzy channels–one of them was a BYU station so we can still get shows like Sesame Street and Arthur.  Every so often I will let you watch Barney.

Being a mom sure is challenging at times.  Sometimes I think one of the greatest challenges is not getting stuck in a rut and wasting time watching TV all day long.  I have had a lot to keep me busy over the last couple of weeks, but there are days when things get a little mundane.  Taking care of you is basically a three-hour cycle.  Feed you, change your diaper, put you to bed, get you up, play with you, and then start all over.

We usually go on walks during the day.  When the weather is nice we take a walk in the morning and then again in the late afternoon.  In the morning we just walk around the development.  The road goes in a big oval shape and Chris measured the distance for one lap to be 7/10 of a mile.  We do three laps most days.  In the afternoon, we usually walk to a store or something.  It is usually quite a distance, but I tell Chris where we are going and he stops to pick us up on his way home from work.  We have walked to Wal-mart, Fred Meyer, Shopko etc.  You fall asleep at some point during the walk.  It has been a bit cooler lately with a lot of wind and some rain, so on those days we are pretty much confined to the house.  I think you actually miss our walks when we don’t go.  I know I do.  I am trying really hard to get back in shape. 

I was wearing out the tires on our stroller quite quickly, so we bought a jogging stroller from Wal-mart.  It is not your favorite because it isn’t as comfortable and it doesn’t give you quite as smooth of a ride as your regular stroller, but it works well.

You mainly just drink milk but your dad gives you the occasional popsicle, which you love. You have started noticing that we are eating however, and watch us rather intently.  I imagine, once I start feeding you, mealtimes won’t be too peaceful. 

In the past couple of weeks, you had rolled over a couple of times, but didn’t seem too fascinated with it.  And then all of sudden, one day you know how to do it lickety-split and anytime I put you on your tummy now you promptly roll over.  You favor your right side most of the time.  It is hard to believe that you are almost 6 months old already.  I have a hard time remembering what you were like as a newborn.  Good thing I have kept this journal-it helps me remember a lot of little things I would otherwise forget. 

Your hair is quite thick on top, but pretty sparse in the back and on the sides.  It is starting to grow though and you have a lot more hair than some little bald-headed babies.  There is one spot on the top that is quite curly and twice as long as the rest of your hair.  I put a berette in it which looks quite cute.

On Monday, Memorial Day, you screamed for the first time.  It was just a short little scream, but a real one just the same.  Brad and I were sitting on the couch talking and you were lying on the floor and out it came.  Still, you are so cute.

We went to our new ward for the first time last Sunday.  We are not really excited about it because I don’t think there are many wards in the church that compare with the Provo North 2nd ward.  We have loved being a part of it and sharing in the love and friendship.  We are now in the Provo North 1st ward boundaries and go to another church which is a couple miles away.  It is in the same stake as the 2nd ward, but we now meet in the “Brown” church.  We hope that it will be a good experience for us.

We have new neighbors to the right of us—two doors down--Brandon and Kristen Fish. 
They are expecting a little boy in about a month.  They are very nice people, and Chris and I hope that we can be good friends.

Thursday, May 04, 2000

You have been so crabby the last couple of days because you are already getting a tooth.  I first noticed it yesterday.  But you can’t be normal about it and get one in the front, you are getting in one of your molars.  It has taken me a couple of hours just to get you to take a nap, but it sounds as though you finally went to sleep.

We were hoping to be able to start moving in a couple of hours to our new home, but the mortgage company has made some major screw ups, and Chris is still trying to work out the mess.  I feel sick about it.  The people who are moving in here have had their stuff in our extra room since Monday and we have moved everything from that room down into the dining room.  It is packed and there is little room even to move.  We have been eating off of a card table this week in the living room. 

At your four-month check-up on the 20th of April, you weighed in at 17 lbs 3 oz, your head measured 41.5 cm and you were 26 inches long.  After measuring you, the nurse said, “She’s right on schedule for a 6-month old.”  She looked at me in surprise when I told her that you were only four months old!  The doctor says that you are doing great and are very healthy.  We are so grateful for that.

You rolled over a couple of times today.  The first time you rolled over was last week.  You are growing so fast.  Sometimes it is hard to remember what you were like as a newborn.  You jabber a lot now and certainly are sucking on your toys a lot—that comes with a bunch of drool as well.  You have definitely outgrown your cradle.  You don’t have much elbow room, especially since you like to sleep with your arms over your head and spread out.   You have about four inches of head room left.  As soon as we do move you will be in your new crib with plenty of room for growing.

We flew to Arizona to see Grandpa Kline for Easter.  This was your second flight in 4 ½ short months of life, and you did so well.  It was very late on Friday night the 21st of April—about 9:15—but as soon as we took off, I fed you and put you in your chair and you were quickly off to sleep.  You slept straight through until 8 am the next morning.  Kevin and Candace came with us as well.  Grandpa was happy to see you, but more happy just to show you off.

On Saturday we drove for about 2 ½ hours to an observatory and by the time we got there they were closing.  We were only able to spend a couple of minutes in one of the buildings and then had to leave.  Just as we were leaving, you messed your diaper royally.  It was running all over the place and both Chris and I were trying hard to keep the front seat of the rental car clean.  You do do some gross diapers at times.  I don’t appreciate them very much.  When we were about one hour away from home you started getting tired and cranky and basically cried (screamed) the rest of the way home.

We went to church Sunday morning with Kevin, Candace and Grandpa.  We don’t normally eat out on Sunday, but we did go to the Outback Steakhouse for dinner and to see Lew and Ardie, Grandpa’s stepdad, who was more like a dad to him than his real dad.

On Monday morning we went for a hike for about an hour. You slept most of the time and were so thirsty when we finished that you gulped down water until you realized that it wasn’t milk.

Kevin and Candace flew out Monday night and we all flew out home early Tuesday morning.  We dropped Daddy off at work and then went on home.