Easter Attire

Though it’s not Easter, we dressed up in our Easter attire as if it was; because next week is General Conference, and we will all probably be in pajamas instead of our Easter finery. Therefore, today was dress-up day.

Out With the Old, in With the New

Goodbye TV of seven years. We purchased you when we were just newlyweds, but now it is time to part. It is nothing personal, it’s just that you hardly ever turn on anymore; and when you do, you have a tendency to turn off again when no one tells you to. We simply need a more reliable TV that can actually let us view movies and shows. So thank you for all of your hard work, but now it is time to rest.



Hello brand new TV of not even a day. Johnny has been looking long and hard for you. He has had money saved for well over a year for you—back when he still had a job. He has been waiting and waiting for our other TV to give out so that you could come and join us. He is very excited that you have come, and we all hope that you stay for a good, long while.

Eggstravaganza

Today we attended the annual Eggstravaganza at Zoo Boise. It was a lot of fun, and held up to all the hype. Elle and Hudson got to meet the Easter Bunny, view animals—a given at the zoo—get freebies, Elle got to hunt for brightly colored eggs in the egg scramble, she also got to play in a jump house, get her face painted, and eat lots of candy. But I think Elle's favorite part was meeting the Easter Bunny. Some kids are scared of a giant bunny that walks on two legs and has a huge head; but not Elle, she loves it. She wanted to meet him over and over again. Hudson seemed quite indifferent. He didn’t care either way. But Elle couldn’t get enough. She absolutely loved the Easter Bunny. So thanks to the Easter Bunny, and all the commercialized items of the holiday, we had a fun-filled day at the zoo.

Won't You Be My Neighbor

We have wonderful, immediate neighbors. They have a little boy, Koen, who is six months older than Elle—a perfect age gap—and Elle and Koen have become the best of friends. They play with each other multiple times a day, and are constantly running between the two houses. Their friendship is very cute and charming. Johnny and I find it such a delight to see Elle make such a good friend.



And look at this cake Koen’s mom made for Hudson’s half birthday. What a great neighbor.

Six Months

Hudson had his half-birthday today, and no one is more surprised at how the time flew than I. As cliché as it sounds, it truly is hard for me to believe that he is six-months-old. He is such a sweet little boy, and I am ever grateful that he joined our family. His smile, his laugh, and his delightful personality constantly charm me. I am completely smitten. I love him very much.



Some of his latest and greatest accomplishments are:

•Sitting like a champ (he did this at five months, but has since mastered it even more).
•Army crawling (again he did this at five months, but he is now quicker and is almost crawling for real).
•He now reaches his arms out when he wants one of us or if he wants attention—very cute.
•He always sings/whines himself to sleep—equally cute.
•He squeals—a lot. Johnny is not so sure about this one.
•He is very content and easy going—something we really love.
•He is tough. He hardly ever cries. And if he does get hurt, he whimpers once and is over it.

Some of his likes and dislikes are:

•He loves his toys, his ExerSaucer, his bouncer, his sister, his parents—in that order—his fingers, his bath, being outside, his stroller, his baby bjorn, oatmeal, and he loves to be on the move.
•He hates, hates, HATES baby food. I’ve tried everything, and it all ends up with the same result: puke. I put the food on his tongue, and he instantly gags and desperately tries to get the distasteful stuff out of his mouth. When he realizes he has nothing left to do but swallow, he does so but then instantly pukes. It is disgusting. Luckily, he loves oatmeal.

I absolutely adore Hudson, and everything about him. I am very grateful for the past six wonderful months, and I am looking forward to many more adventures that are sure to come.

Too Funny

A Lovely Combo

This past week has been absolutely CRAZY for me. I thought last week was crazy, but this week definitely tops it. Late Monday night, I started to feel a little funny, but thought nothing of it. But when I woke up Tuesday morning, I felt awful, and I knew exactly what I had: mastitis. I had mastitis five times when I was nursing Elle, and I thought I had made it free and clear with Hudson; boy was I wrong. Even though it was only once—so far—it was awful. I was in pain; I was weak; I had a fever; and my head hurt so bad, that I could hardly move. Combine those symptoms with two busy kids, and it makes for one wonderful day. I just painfully made it through the day—pumping like mad—and hoping that Hudson would sleep well for the night. But as things always go, Hudson didn’t sleep well. I was doing terrible, and he was up most of the night. I have no idea how I survived. But with a little Tylenol, and some more pumping, I felt good enough to take Elle to the dentist the next morning. But what do you know, by the time we got back, I started to feel a little queasy, and realized I must have caught the stomach bug—just what I needed. And let me just say, mastitis coupled with the stomach flu is nothing I ever want to experience again. One or the other is bad enough, but the two together is just plain torture. And to top it all off, Johnny got sick, too. It was a lovely day. But thankfully, by Thursday, both the mastitis and the flu were gone. Somehow I survived. How? I don’t know. I still look back on last week and shudder. I hope to never have to survive mastitis and the flu together again.

First Dental Visit

Elle had her fist dental visit today, and everything—surprisingly—went wonderfully. Going to the dentist, for Elle’s first time, was something I dreaded. I was not sure how she would do, and I also didn’t know how her teeth would do (she has two small cavities on her front tooth, but one never knows what is lurking in the crevices). But, Elle loved going to the dentist, and her teeth did too (her only cavities were the two on the front, and the dentist said they would be easily fixed). Elle let them do all of her x-rays while Hudson and I waited outside, and she rather enjoyed getting her teeth cleaned. Her favorite part was the water squirter (I don’t know the official name, but I’m sure it is nothing close to water squirter) she kept asking for a drink over and over again. And the dentist said Elle’s mouth was the best mouth she had looked in all day—a mother always likes to hear that. So, I no longer need to dread the dentist; because Elle and her teeth feel right at home.

Zoo Monday

I took Elle and Hudson to the Boise zoo Monday, and we only saw one animal: the lion. And we did not only see one animal because of time constraints; we saw only one animal because that is the ONLY animal Elle wished to view. When I tried to suggest that we see some other animals, Elle adamantly refused. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that the other animals were boring compared to the lions. So, we viewed the lions for the entire time. But I didn’t really mind, because there is a lion house where Hudson and I can sit down right at the glass. It is a great place to get close to the lions and to relax. And since we only live ten minutes from the zoo, and we go once a week, I did not mind only seeing the lions. But Elle may find a problem with viewing only one animal when her brother gets big enough to have a preference. But until then, lions it is.

Snow?

I woke up this morning to this:



I think someone needs to define the word spring to the weather. Snow in March is definitely not the definition of spring. I also think that Jack Frost needs to take an extended vacation. He does not need to be visiting us anytime soon.

The Stomach Bug

If my birthday wasn’t bad enough, my night last night and my day today was. My sweet baby girl Elle came in our room last night—at midnight to be exact—and told us that she had puked. Johnny and I were not sure what to think. It has been ages since she has puked at night. She used to puke almost every night in her crib when she was little on account of her having acid reflux. But since she has outgrown it—it only took until she was two—she has not puked in her bed. So, we went in her room to find puke everywhere—walls, sheets, bed, floor, toys, etc. It was disgusting and sad at the same time. And to top it all off, she kneeled on the floor and began puking all over again. I quickly got her a cup, helped Johnny clean up, and then put her in the bath. After scrubbing her all over, I put her in warm pajamas, wrapped her in a blanket, and took her downstairs to sleep. I put her on the beanbag (I didn’t want her to puke on the couch) and then I laid on the couch next to her. I spent the remainder of the night propping her up and putting a cup under her mouth, every fifteen minutes, so that she would not puke everywhere. I have only one word: disgusting. But that is not all I had to do. I also had to run back upstairs to feed Hudson throughout the night, all the while hoping Elle would not puke while I was gone. It was one fantastic night. Thoroughly exhausting. And although she was still sick throughout the remainder of the day, the puking had at least ceased. But it was very hard to see her so sick and weak. I hope she feels better tomorrow; and I hope that no one else gets the stomach bug.

So Loved

Today is my birthday, and it has been a birthday like no other. Hudson, who was not around for my last birthday, surprised me by wanting to be the first one to wish me a happy birthday. He woke up at 1:00 AM, and was all smiles. He just couldn’t wait to wish me a happy birthday. After I finally got him back to sleep at 2:00 AM, he woke up again at 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 5:20, 5:40, and 6:00. He was really excited that it was my birthday. He just couldn’t sleep. Actually, he hadn’t pooped for two days, and I knew he was a little constipated. So after we got up at 6:00, he gave me my first present: a full diaper—which from sight, smell, and amount could only be described as manure. It was by far, the worst diaper I have ever changed. By the time I changed him and bathed him, Elle joined us in our birthday celebrations. She started by giving me my second present—jordon almonds—which she had picked out and wrapped herself. After divulging in a few, Elle decided she wanted a bath like Hudson. And not to be outdone by him, she gave me a wonderful present of pooping in the bath tub. Such a nice gift. After cleaning her and the tub, I attempted to not cry. I was tired, and my birthday was not at all how I had imagined. But I did not want to cry on my birthday. So I held back the tears, and attempted to put Hudson to sleep for his much needed first nap of the day. But Hudson had other ideas; he decided that a two-minute-nap was all he needed. By this time Johnny was awake, and he took one look at me, grabbed Hudson, and sent me back to bed. Bless him. He saved my day. I got two hours of uninterrupted sleep. It was Heavenly. And after I woke up, I fed Hudson and put him down for a two-hour-nap. Again, Heavenly. From then on, my birthday turned out to be much more like a birthday. Hudson took the rest of his naps, there was no more poop, and I got real presents—the kind you wrap and keep. All I can say, is that everyone made me feel so loved on my birthday.

A New Friend

Elle has become quite enamored by our neighbor, Koen. She was a little wary of him when we first moved here—on account of a few bad incidences with boys in the past—but now she is surely smitten. Yesterday, they showed each other the pictures they had drawn, and then they proceeded to play in the rain. And today, they had a play date. They played at both houses, and had so much fun. But my favorite part of the day was when Elle acted the damsel in distress. Elle was trying to get her blocks out for the two of them to play with, when she looks at Koen and sweetly says, “These are really heavy Koen, could you get them out for me?” I sat there with my mouth open as Koen walked over and retrieved the blocks for Elle. Where did she learn that? She could have asked me to help her, but she knew to ask Koen. How funny. Johnny and I got a good laugh out of that one.