Prayers

Ali loves to mimic everything Cam does and he takes great pride in knowing he taught Ali how to fold her arms for prayers.

 

As soon as you tell her it is time for prayers she folds her cute little arms like this.

 

Now, if we say any word that resembles the word prayers, she fold her arms.

 

She is starting to mumble words too while we pray. I can't wait to hear what she will say when she can actually form sentences.

 

And, her amen at the end is so cute. Instead of saying it, she throws her hands up and says YAAAYY!

 

I sure love this little girs and the sweet spirit she brings to our family.

Marry Me?

On our anniversary we were having Grammy and Papa babysit the kids. Cam was so excited and asked every day that week if it was the day he would be babysat.

Cam asked where Scott and I were going and why we were going on a date. I explained to him that we were celebrating the day we got married years ago. 7 to be exact.

Cam said, "I'm going to get married someday."

I replied, "Yes you will! And in the beautiful temple!"

He then said, "When I get married, I will buy clothes like Daddy!"

I love to hear what is on his mind and the funny things he must think about 'grown-up' stuff.

Later that night, as we were driving to drop them off, I brought up to Scott the conversation Cam and I had earlier. A minute later he said,

"Mom? Will you marry ME?"

My heart melted. Oh, how I wish I could have him to myself forever. I need him. I need him like I need oxygen.

He then said, "I don't want to be alone."

I got a little teary eyed and told him he will never ever be alone. I, of course, agreed to his proposal and told him we will be best friends forever and ever and he will always have his mommy.

My heart was so full. I was celebrating the day, 7 years prior, that I married my best friend. The day we were sealed for eternity in the Lord's temple. The day my life began.

I now have these two amazing babies that we created, that are a part of our eternal family. I felt so grateful even more, for the promises we made that special day.

 

Scott and I had a wonderful night celebrating at the Cheesecake Factory, which has become our tradition the last couple years.

Side note. During the day I heard 'our' song on the radio. It was so fun to be reminded of the fun night we had dancing together as newlyweds.

Monkey Needs

Let me introduce you to George. George is a little stuffed monkey Scott got for Cameron while he was traveling to San Diego when Cam was a baby.

Cam has loved it from day one and would always would hold it and sleep with it along with Pup.

 

Cam has always liked Curious George so as soon as Cam could talk and decide on a name, George was named.

Cam sometimes decides George needs to come on certain excursions with us. He has been left behind at stores before so we limit where he can tag along. He has to stay in the car on most trips.

 

One day we had George over at Grandma's. Our day went on and bedtime came and Cam was horrified to realize he left George at Grandma's.

He started crying and explaining that he couldn't sleep without George. Having Grandma take care of it over night was not going to fly with him. He wasn't acting out about it, he genuinely was sad and didn't know how he could sleep with anything else.

 

When my kid hurts, I hurt.

I told him I would run over to Grandma's to get George. He told me the exact place he left him and said he would go to bed but would leave his door cracked until I got him.

As soon as I got home I went into his room and he smiled so big. He gave George a hug and the first thing he said to me was, "Thanks Mom. I love you. I love George."

 

There is nothing I wouldn't do for this face.

Especially easy fixes like this...going to get George from Grandma's.

(thankfully she lives 5 minutes away!)

First Day of Preschool

Cam has been anxiously awaiting this day. The day he would be a preschooler.

 

He had a good time at orientation and loved his teacher, Mrs. Starr. He will be going 3 days a week from 8:45-11:15.

He is attending the preschool in Scott's parents neighborhood and the preschool that Lady is the afternoon teacher at. We have him in the morning class though, so his Grammy wouldn't be his teacher. She does get to visit and help in the morning class sometimes though.

Scott was able to take the morning off and go with us to drop him off. I was so glad because although I was excited to have him go to school, I was anxious for us to be separated. Thankfully, times I have had to work, Cam was able to be with family. This was the first time I was giving him to somebody else. Big deal! :) 

Cam was all jokes and playful the entire morning. He even woke up an hour earlier than normal and came running into our room that it was time to go to school.

He loved his backpack and wanted to put something in it so he packed one of his favorite books.

He started to get nervous as we got closer to school. He got super quiet and straight faced. He looked at me and asked if I would take him into class and stay with him. He got really worried when I told him I couldn't stay long.

He had me walk him in and was hesitant to leave my side. He held my hand so tight and kept asking me to stay.

I encouraged him to play with the other kids, but he knew my trick to slip out, and watched me the whole time.

Soon, he saw on the table their was a craft they were going to work on. He was so excited, sat right down and got to work. I gave him a kiss and he happily said goodbye.

 

As I walked to the car my heart hurt a little. I had just dropped him off seconds ago and I was already missing him. I need him. I started crying OF COURSE. Come on, one of us needed to have tears, and he was fine!

I kept thinking...

 

Was he going to be ok?

Were the kids going to be nice to him?

Was he going to be obedient?

Was he going to use his manners?

Would he make friends easily?

Would he get hurt during play time outside?

Would he share?

Would he be the good boy I know he is?

Would I survive these 2 hours without him?

And...

YES, we both survived!

 

He loved his first day of school. He made friends, enjoyed learning and can't wait to go back!

He even instructed me that he can walk into class himself now.

The time passed quickly for me and Ali and I were able to spend some quiet time together.

 

How did he grow up so fast? I miss baby Cam but I am excited for all the changes and fun things he will be experiencing this year.

The Story of the Mystery Poop

Warning: There are details of poop, obviously, in this post. If you are eating...I would recommend coming back to this later.

 

Okay, the story begins the day after we got home from Michigan.

 

I must note that on our trip Ali had a very healthy poop schedule. She was going a little more often than normal and it was a consistency that was unlike her, but not too weird.

 

On Tuesday night, Ali had the runs. The weird thing was, it was white.

I, for some reason, didn't think much of it.

 

The next day she was acting a little different. Not sick really, just didn't have a big appetite and was a little more snuggly than usual. She pooped again, more solid this time, but it was still white. I knew it wasn't normal and called the doctor. They of course wanted her to get in right away.

I love our pediatrician. LOVE.

He wasn't too alarmed and explained to me things to watch for. He explained that light colored poop usually means something is wrong with the liver or there's a blockage of some sort. He said he felt that it was okay because she was not jaundice at all and not uncomfortable. If it were a blockage, he said it would be super painful and her tummy would be bloated.

I left the office confident she was fine, like he said, and that things would start getting normal.

 

That night, at about 1:00 am, Ali woke up crying. I went in to check on her and she had puked all over. We got her cleaned up, Scott gave her a priesthood blessing and we all went back to bed.

That morning, she was super sluggish, refused to eat and was a little fussy. That night, she seemed to be more upset about her tummy and that it was bothering her. I was not sure if she had a bug or if it was the start of something the Dr. told me to watch for. (she never did get jaundice)

 

This is what our Friday looked like. Poor girl was so sleepy. She pooped again and it was still white, so I called the Dr.

Our pediatrician wasn't in but another Dr in his office saw us.

That Dr. wasn't sure why she was acting the way she was. She had no signs of anything serious but he felt we needed to have some blood work done. He wanted to check if there was inflammation anywhere, any virus and check her liver numbers.

I was so upset and worried how she would do. She was super irritable with the Dr and was traumatized just by his examination. I knew the blood draw would not be pretty.

And I was right. It was horrible. I am naturally a very emotional person, so when it comes to my kids, it is magnified by 1000.

I had to hold her in my lap and restrain her while they drew her blood. We were both crying so hard. I am grateful for the wonder phlebotomist that got it done as quick as she could and didn't seem to judge me too badly. Hahaha

 

After it was all over...She slept.

 

The next day, Ali seemed to be doing better. She was eating, playing and acting like her happy self. She continued to poop white, but was acting normal. YAY!

The results came back normal on everything. What a relief!

We just had to deal with white poop...That's easy!

 

On Saturday morning, Cam woke up and was not hungry. He just wanted to lay on the couch and be left alone. I knew he must not be feeling right, but didn't think much of it. He ended up throwing up all over and then fell asleep on the couch watching a movie.

 Poor guy was so tired and sick. 

 

Ali was so sweet and so worried about Cam. She adores him and could tell something was wrong. She was constantly rubbing his back or his hair and talking softly in his face. It was so precious to watch. The love they have for each other was so evident, from the both of them, during this time. Ali learned how to care for Cam because that is how he cared for her during the couple days before.

 

Well, after a couple days and few more times throwing up, Cam was back to normal. I think whatever Ali was sick with earlier in the week was actually a virus and that is what Cam got. (Although that does not explain the white poops.)

 

As of today, she is finally pooping normal!

 

I am so grateful for my kids. I am grateful they are both healthy and happy right now. I am grateful we have the ability to see a Dr we trust and have easy tests done when needed. I am especially grateful for the power of the priesthood and that we have it in our home. Both kids received blessings the first signs of illness and I know, without a doubt, they were blessed by our Heavenly Father. I am grateful that Cam is aware of that and know he will teach Ali the same. I am grateful my kids have each other and that they care so much for one another.

 

I am grateful Ali is pooping normal...I just wish the mystery was solved.

Ali Bug

I wanted to post some things about you so I don't forget them as you get older. I'm grateful that I wrote about the little habits and characteristics that brother had when he was your age. Reading over them helps me re-live those great days!

You are gorgeous! I could stare at you all day. You are even precious when you are sad!  You have what we call a Boo Boo lip.  If something upsets you, you stick out your lower lip and, after 5-10 seconds, burst into tears.  While it's sad to see you so upset, the whole process is just so cute to watch.  Your heart is just so sensitive.

Everyday, I place some sort of bow or clip in your hair.  You hate them and can't stand to have them in.  You always seem to find a way to take it out while I'm not looking.  Sometimes you even rip it out to tease me while I am looking.  You always get a kick out of that!

You are a chatty girl and babble often. You are great at rolling your R's. You make Daddy proud, he is sure you are going to speak spanish easily. :)

You are growing up fast and when you turned 1, we put you in a big girl carseat. You have enjoyed it a lot, but haven't really slept in it like you would the baby seat.

You are a cuddle bug.

Depending on the day, your hair gets curly in the back. I love those days.

You are a Mommy's girl, but when Dad gets home all you want is him. I remember Cam being the same way. It's a great balance!

Out of everyone in the world that you know, including dad and me, you prefer

GRANDPA.

You are insanely obssessed with him. As soon as you see him, wherever we are, you reach your hands up and start whinning until he grabs you. We have to literally peel you off of him when it is time to go. Heartbreaking for both you and him.

As soon as we go to Grandma and Grandpa's house, everyone runs to greet you and get their kisses in because, as soon as you see Grandpa, you want nothing to do with anyone else.

Usually, they ask him to hide for a bit in order to get extra time with you.  

You have finally started crawling on your knees. You have been an army crawler for some time now and seeing you on your knees is so cute!

You love cruising the couch. You are just most content on your feet.  You have a talent for finding the thumbs of the person closest to you and using them to pull yourself up.  You especially love when someone will walk you while not letting go of their thumbs. Usually when that gets started, you won't stop without crying.

You say "cheese" so cute when we take your picture.

It's more like "sheeesss"

You are still in your stranger danger phase. If new people are around, you need to be right next to mom or dad.

Even when doing something fun, like riding in the bike trailer.

You seem to be a homebody. When we are out or at Grandma's you constantly need someone around you and tend to get cranky fast. At home you are content and can play alone for as long as needed.

You love to eat. You will eat anything and everything. Especially sweets.

You are busy busy. You are always on the go. You have to be entertained constantly or you are up wiggling and whinning. Much different than Cam.

You are never picked up without being kissed. You are always being loved on by everyone in the family. I'm glad, because that has made you a very affectionate girl.

When you are being held, you grab the collar or shirt of whoever is holding you.

You are a great sleeper. Always have been, thankfully. You sleep great at night and put yourself to sleep during your morning nap and night time. Your afternoon nap, I still need to hold and snuggle you. If you are in your crib, you will only sleep an hour. If I hold you, you sleep 2 1/2, which is needed because we don't have time to give you an after-dinner nap. It's hard to tie myself down to hold you every afternoon with all the things I need/could be doing, but I know it won't be forever. And I know I won't always get to feel you breathe so close to my face, see you sleep so soundly, see you switch your bink back and forth as you fall asleep and just snuggle you so closely for as long as I want, so I will take it all in now and count my blessings.

You are a bink lover. I'm afraid for the time to come when we'll have to wean you off of it.

You hate water. Always have. You just barely started taking a bath in the big tub with brother. You will only do it while sitting in your baby bathtub though.

You hated going swimming and cried anytime the water touched you.

You were content sitting next to me watching and waving to Dad and brother.

You adore Cameron. He makes you so happy. You always want to do what he is doing and you make that very clear.

You are sensitive to him and, if he is upset, you start fussing with worry.

He makes you crack up in the car and teaches you fun ways to dance.

You are best friends.

That being said, you are starting to be a little jealous of him at times. If he is near me and you want to be, you pull, scratch, and even yank on his ear to get him away.

You can say Mama, Dada, Papa, puppy, oink, hi, bye-bye, bubblebutt (Robs fish name), cheese, mas, brother (sometimes), No and Knock-Knock (Cam jokes).

You fold your arms so cute when we pray and instead of 'amen' you scream 'ahhh' at the end of prayers.

You are such a joy to be around. You are my favorite girl and I can't imagine my life without you. Seeing you grow and change everyday makes my heart happy. You are loved so very much!

Big brother, the comforter.

I need to catch up on my blog! It is a little discouraging...and then makes me procrastinate even more.
I have decided that I am going to start doing current posts and work on the 'catch up' posts when I can.

Ali was playing today, standing by the couch. She had grabbed my ipad while I wasn't watching at dropped it right on her foot. It was so sad. I'm sure it hurt so bad!
Cam was so concerned and ran over to her while I was trying to comfort her. He inspected her foot and made sure it was ok. He then kissed the top of her foot and leaned in to hug her. She loves her brother's hugs and this was no exception. It was so cute. She calmed down quickly and just laid in his shoulder.
I hate when either of my kids are in pain, but to have moments like this, make them worth it just a little.
I love what a good brother he is. I love watching him take care of her. I love how much she wants him to love and take care of her.