Finger painting and the experiment

This week has been pretty nice, I just had orientation on Monday and then we have had the week to play, we went to the zoo with our play group on Wednesday and played at the park today. Cami is so much fun, she laughs so much and has such a little personality. We have had some grumpy moments when Cami discovered that milk comes out of her bottle when she bangs it upside down on the floor and she loves throwing her food on the floor! AHHHH! I was really hoping we could not learn that trick. She has had some more picky moments and has been a stinker about eating lately. Good things she learned recently include saying bye and waving. She is learning to hold her own bottle, I decided that is the first step to getting to the sippy cup. She is getting better with the naps and we are figuring out a loose schedule, although we just kinda roll with the punches and nap when she is grumpy, or more often falls asleep on our way home from an activity in the morning. 

 I found a sweet idea for edible finger paint on a blog called Make and Takes here is the link: http://www.makeandtakes.com/your-toddler-will-love-this-edible-finger-paint

 Cami loved it, but really liked eating it more than painting with it. I used vanilla instead of plain, which was a mistake if you want them to paint instead of just eat it.

 We definitely needed a bath after that!

 Cami let me paint her little toes! It was fun, but I had to be fast so don't look too close!

 Here is the only thing in my garden that is growing. I think it was too hot and I didn't take long enough transitioning my plants. JD was making fun of my "hardening off" process and said I should just plant them in the dirt outside and see what happens. Well since they all died off anyway, I thought I might just try his idea and see if "the experiment" works any better. The control is radically off since it is quite a bit cooler now then it was when I tried getting them to grow so even if it does work, it doesn't mean his idea is more sound. I just thought I would give it a try.

So here is the starting picture and we will see if anything besides squash survives my first attempt at gardening.

The Zoo and Shoes

This past Saturday JD had some free time in the afternoon and since he hadn't been to the zoo yet we went as a family. It was fun, and JD took lots of pictures of the animals so I thought I would collage them and share our wonderful zoo with you! For a smaller town, I think it is a pretty decent zoo, definitely better than the Pocatello Zoo, :) That is not hard to do I know.

 This crocodile was pretty creepy right up next to the glass, Cami just thinks her mother is crazy, and I am pretty sure that perception won't change as she gets older!

Cami discovered my shoes... She had them on her feet first, but refused to stand up with them and put them on her hands instead and was clapping with them. She was very cooperative with "cheesing" for the camera.

Also on Saturday was the General Relief Society Broadcast, which was wonderful. I am so grateful for modern day leaders who receive revelation for our time. I am grateful for messages that give me hope for my family and help me be motivated to do better and reach out to others. 

Another important note is that I just want to express my gratitude for some wonderful people who helped us with watching Cami while I was in orientation. I feel so incredibly grateful for people who helped and one sweet sister called me to see if I needed help, right when I was feeling overwhelmed and stressed. I am not sure if she had felt prompted to do that or if she was just being nice, but it was exactly what I needed.

Oriented Times Three

The title is a joke for all you nurses :) This week was busy because I started orientation for my new job. I will be working in the NICU! I am so glad because I was super worried to work any where else. If you know what you like, why change it? Other than necessity of course.

Other Highlights of the week:

1. Cami went to babysitters everyday this week and was pretty good, other than not really taking naps...

2. BYU won their game last night...not going to lie, I fell asleep and missed all of the good parts...namely the 4th quarter.

3. JD was a super sweetheart this week and started out my week of orientation with some lovely flowers and some chocolate!!! YAY! 

4. Lucky for me I got out of orientation early some of the days which was nice. They had told us to plan for 8-5 Tuesday through Friday!

5. I got to feel like I was back in school for parts of orientation since I have not done several of the "adult" related skills since nursing school.

6. Cami is "talking" like crazy this week and learned a new word.. Daddy! She is also starting to repeat or mimic the words I am saying. It is so fun!

So pretty much my week revolved around orientation and so I was busy and I stress unnecessarily about everything so I was a tad overwhelmed. I am glad every week is not like this week. I am excited to have just one more day of hospital orientation then I get to start on my unit next Saturday! I am excited to get to work with babies again!

 Thanks again sweetheart! You made my week!

Cami on Friday, she doesn't seem like she missed me very much and loved playing so much with her new friends!

Temple Trips and Play time

This past week was a little busy and this week will be too. Highlights of the past week are...
1. Going to the zoo and seeing a tiger growl... no I didn't get a picture.
2. Watching BYU lose miserably to Utah, but enjoying being with some law school buddies and made some fun "Y" sugar cookies
3. Going to the temple!!!!!! It was wonderful!
4. Going to storytime at the library and trying to keep other children from trampling Cami
5. Cami learning how to say "no" and saying it multiple times!!
6. Trying to get Cami to take a sippy cup, and it is not working.. Any ideas would be helpful!
7. Watching my garden die... too hot, the only thing that is surviving is the squash. I think I might try replanting this week.
8. Finishing Cami's quiet book, and discovering that she is not old enough for it yet
9. Introduced Cami to crayons, which she really just eats rather than colors with
10. Yesterday enjoyed a well deserved relaxed Sabbath in which Cami took 2 naps and we got a 1 1/2 hour nap as well!

The best toys really aren't toys ... including cardboard boxes.

Pages from Cami's quiet book

This was the BYU game the week before against Texas, which we also watched with some friends. JD is happy since we don't have cable and he was so worried about finding a way to watch the game.

Lately as soon as she gets bored with eating she rubs whatever it is all over her hair, we now have daily baths as a result.

Oh how she mocks us! That thing she is playing with is a edge guard that belongs on the fireplace. We put it there to protect her and she thinks it is funny to rip it off, virtually any time she notices it is back in its rightful place.

The last few pages of Cami's book.

Here is the outside cover of her quiet book.

Cami loves to smile for the camera. I was taking a picture of the sugar cookies and she gave me this big grin when I came in the room with the camera so I had to snap a picture. Previous to this picture I was frosting the sugar cookies and choosing to ignore her digging around in the cans in the cupboard when she pulled out a can of pears and brought it to the middle of the floor and stood over it clapping and giving her little laugh/whine that means I want this! It was so funny!

The "Y" cookies!

At the zoo.

On the way to the Temple!

Playing outside the temple. We went with some friends and switched babysitting while the other group went in to a session.

Yes she got filthy but I guess that is part of the joy of being a toddler!

One of our little friends Michael.

The Dallas Temple

Hearty Penne Bake

I found this recipe from a Taste of Home and I love it! Just tried it last night!
1 3/4 cup uncooked penne noodles
1 lbs ground beef
1 tsp garlic
1 can (15oz) tomato puree- I just used tomato sauce
1 can beef broth (16 oz) I just used two cubes in 2 cups of water
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt, Pepper
2 cup chopped fresh spinach
2 cup mozzarella cheese
Cook the noodles like normal, brown the hamburger and add garlic, cook one minute then add tomato, broth, seasonings Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes then add spinach cook for 2 minutes then add drained noodles stir then top with cheese and cover for 3-4 minutes or until cheese melts! That's it!

September here we come!

JD would tell you that his favorite part of September is the start of college football. Here is a little video of Cami celebrating BYU's win over Ole Miss. JD just about had a heart attack because the game was so stressful. I don't know if I am ready for college football again!

I decided to try gardening, Texas has two growing seasons and yes I am a little late, but I hope it will be ok. Here is the starting of the week.

Cami and I have been lucky to find some friends to play with. They have been so fun and I am so grateful for a string of tender mercies that led us together. This week we went to the park and lucky for us it has been cooling down this week!

Cami is discovering crayons, mostly she just likes to eat them, but she does color a little.

Here is the garden at the end of the week! We are making head way!

Cami and I went to chill at the museum for a couple hours today, we pretty much had the place to ourselves and it was pretty fun!

Our little cowgirl!

Our trek to the mail box! Cami gets so distracted, eventually I just have to carry her but I let her run around a bit!

Just an Update

Sorry there aren't any pictures with this post. I will be better next time. Just thought I would give a little update. We have had a a busy week. I wasn't feeling so good over the weekend and had a bad couple of days getting better Monday and Tuesday, but am much better now. Cami and I discovered the much bigger library of Waco, in fact there are 4 of them which is sweet! We are excited for the story time starting next week! Today we had a fun trip to the zoo, which is actually pretty sweet! I liked it and I am 99% sure Cami loved it! I got a membership there too so we will have lots to entertain us between the museum, libraries, and zoo! Also today I got a job! I am excited, except it doesn't have benefits, so we are going to have to find health insurance... any tips on half way decent plans since there aren't any decent ones? Wish me luck with my new job!