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.
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.
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.
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