It all started because of some fabric from Walmart...

About a month ago I was at Walmart and I saw this really cute fabric and decided I wanted to make Chloe a jumper. Here's the thing, often in my head I picture myself with these fantastic sewing skills, but in reality I don't have any sewing skills. So, I called my mom and jokingly said, "you should come out and teach me how to sew some dresses for Chloe". What do you know?
SHE CAME (about a month later) and she just left, which is why I am doing this post so quick because we are sad that she is gone. Chloe keeps looking around for "Nanna Roofie".

When mom came I had a list of projects I wanted to do with her. In true "organizing-your-priorities-and-time-management-fashion" I numbered the list with 1's, 2's and 3's so we would be sure to get many things accomplished. I didn't include getting sick and losing my voice(which is still gone-5days and counting!) on this list. We still had a great time and she taught me lots.

Here are some pictures of our terrific week together.
My first dress. I really am so proud. It probably won't fit little Blue till next fall. Fine by me because then I have more time to admire it. The dress my mom is holding is just a little summer dress we made and I also bought fabric for a brown jumper. I will post when I am finished because it is my final exam to see if I actually learned and remembered what my mom taught me. A note about the dress: we had to create our own pattern because I couldn't find a pattern that was what I had envisioned.
My mom is a super star seamstress.



Ruthie also taught me everything she knows about cake decorating. We made this cake and then my mom made me another cake for my birthday. It was nice having 2 cakes around to much on. Mmmm....cake!

My Brad took me out on a very fun date for my birthday. Grandma babysat, which she and Chloe both loved. We went out to eat and then to our very first movie in Kirksville- Vantage Point. I received many wonderful presents. This is a pictures of our little family on my birthday.

My mom brought Chloe her first doll. This doll giggles and you can't help laughing yourself. This picture is priceless.

We also took a trip to the local Amish town and bought a ridiculous amount of spices and cookie decorations and baking stuff. Mom loaded her suitcase and I loaded the cupboards.
We miss you "Nanna Roofie". Thanks for all the present you showered us with. Thanks for teaching me more about love and patience, and service and sacrifice, and teaching me those darn skills that I know I need and am grateful you have to pass them on. We love you.

And finally, my hair is ridiculously too long and I am getting it cut on Saturday. Horray!

What was your miracle today?

Take a look at the world around you and notice the miracles...no matter how small.
This was how I was greeted this morning.

The dreaded..."NO!"

What do these three things have in common?

It seems like in the last couple of weeks Chloe has started to discover things that I would prefer she didn't discover like: the cookie decorating bin(she and the dog were caught red handed; literally, they were so covered in red because they had eaten the red hots) the Cystal Light canisters (she punctures them with her sharp teeth and gets a reward full of sweet, powdery, goodness), the chocolate chips, the toilet, the dogs food and water bowl, and the garbage cans. It really breaks my heart to have to say the "N" word, so I am trying to just divert her attention as much as possible, but sometimes "NO" is the only way to go. Thankfully, there isn't much in our home to impose restrictions on, but in anycase, we're working on boundaries around here and our efforts are working, slowly. She and the dog are both confused when they hear "N-O" and don't know if it's meant for him or her. Chloe knows when and what to do to get mom's "attention". On the other hand, it's been absolutely priceless seeing her "discover" (there's that word again) her little world. She'll play ball with the dog and when the ball rolls under the couch she can duck down and look under the couch and see where it went. She imitates us when we laugh and really gets silly. When I do laundry she loves to help me put the clothes away, by throwing all the clothes I have just folded over her shoulder on to the ground. She can get through a basket much faster than I can! She really loves music and will show her rhythm with her bopping up and down. She has a bunch of new tastes like tomatoes, garlic, onions, peppers,mushrooms, g-beef, craisins, tuna, and grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes, and fried mush.(This kid won't be picky if I have anything to say about it.) She loves to load bowls with little lids and then dump the bowls out. I recently went to Ace Hardware, of all places, and found a whole section of "classic" old toys (have I used enough italics in this post!!) The picture below is one such toy. If it weren't for my cute Brad I wouldn't even have known how this toy worked.
Then you squeeze really hard and...
I had the scissors ready to cut the black netting off...would've ruined the fun. We also bought a little canister that makes bird noises when you shake it. They also had a mokey and lamb one. So, when in need of a creative toy, head to Ace Hardware.

Fevers can cause seizures.

When I was pregnant I had a job. I would check the pregnancy websites, daily. I knew lots about what to expect and what to fear and what to be excited about. But when I had Chloe, I kindof stopped reading those books. I did at first, probably until about 5 or 6 months, but now she's moving too fast and playing soo much that I don't have time for those books as much. I find it's easier to be experiencing something and then look it up in the book and just read that section.
Last night was pretty scary. Chloe had a seizure. Apparantly, these types of seizures are pretty normal. Babies experience them because of high fevers. Chloe is 10 months and some and she's never had a fever. When I felt her and she was warm, I just figured it was because our house is freezing and I layer her up. She's had a yucky runny nose for awhile. Yesterday was particularly rough, so I was treating her with Tylenol all day. By the time Brad got home and we had dinner, she just wanted to cuddle. Her temp was 102. It was such cute daddy/ daughter time that I let them just enjoy the moment. about 30 minutes later he came out and told me to get the car started so we could go to the hospital. When I saw her she was laying straight out in his arms and her eyes were glossed over and vacant. She was unresponsive to her name or touch of any kind. She was bluish and couldn't seem to breath well. Thankfully we live in a small town, so we were at the hospital in about 2 minutes. By the time we got to the emergency room she was looking more normal, but still very melancholy. We discharged the hospital with an antibiotic for a sinus infection and the peace of mind knowing our baby had experienced a seizure (what a scary word) and was fine. The irony of the whole situation is that I had been reading about "fevers" after dinner, but started my reading on page 634, febirile seizures associated with fevers was mentioned on page 633. The whole seizure lasted about a minute. While Brad was cuddling her she had started to shake and then just became very still. They say this is a time where the body is so exhausted that it just can't function right for a couple of minutes. This explained the glossy, vacant, quiet expression.

We will miss you, President Hinckley

When I was in highschool, my sister's ward had the opportunity to participate in the dedication of the "ensign peak" monument overlooking the Salt Lake valley. I got to carry a flag and hike up the short, steep climb and stand, along with other youth, waving flags representing several countries united in their membership of the gospel. President HInckley was in attendence. We paraded with the flags right past him and he smiled and waved and I just remember the happy heart I felt and how at the moment I knew of the divinity of his calling.
We were so sad to hear of President Hinckley's death last night. He was such an incredible, incredible prophet and leader. He exemplified kindness and optimism and love for life. It makes me happy to know he will be with his wife again and that he is at peace. I hope to live my life better because of the example he leaves behind and from the lessons he taught us. As my mom put it, "He's just always been there, but it's wonderful to know that the transition will go smoothly and the Lord will oversee everything."
I love this picture. What an incredible man of God. I hope we can all be as happy and optimistic as we dedicate our lives to serve the Lord.

Cutest Chloe

Where has January gone? I can't believe February is right around the corner. We've just been taken it easy. It's been really really cold in Missouri. We've had temps in the single digits. Here are some pics of our little one, because really, she's what our life is all about!
She was just learning to stand without holding on to things. I don't mean to call attention to her little tooshy, but you might as well look at how tight she is squeezing her little buns to balance.
Remember when you used to go swimming and dunk your head in the water and pull all your wet hair over your face and then flip it back so it made sort of a nasty roll on the top of your head. It was called the "martha Washington"?? (laugh out loud if I'm the only one that ever did that!!) Anyway, Brad flipped Chloe's hair the other direction and she looked so funny. We didn't get any pictures of her smiling with her eyes open because she could tell she looked wierd.
That mirror is strategically placed!!

I let her do this one time and now she thinks it such a fun game to feed him. I don't think it's so much fun. Starksy thinks it's fun, though, and if life isn't revolving around Chloe then it is revolving around Starksy.

Some of my favorite Christmas break memories.

Teeth.Lights.National Treasure.Mandrin.Snowmobiles.Snow.waiting.Santa.chocolates.
5 crowns.Are you smarter than a 5th grader. Brighton.Juno. Butternut snowballs. Oneity...Christmas. We just returned from a fabulous vacation to Utah. Chloe and I were there for 3 weeks and Brad was there for 2 weeks. We were able to spend time at both family's homes and pack in as much as there was time for. I even went to a movie with my mom and Emily hours before we flew back to Missouri. Chloe changed a lot while we were in Utah. Even looking back now, I am having a hard time remembering all that we did and how much she grew and what fun we had. I guess the biggest change for our little Blue is that she grew 3 top teeth. Her look has changed and we just can't get over how fast she is growing. Look at her grin!! She loves to do "so big". The picture after this one on my camera is funny. It is basically the same bench-no chloe. She fell head first after this pic was taken.
Chloe helping Grandpa. My dad has run over 50 marathons in his life and we finally got him to take all the marathon shirts out and show us. 50 marathons!!! Are you serious? Dad-you are amazing. I love this picture of Chloe helping him box up the shirts.
Once, in highschool, I went to California with a groups. One of the guys on the trip had never been in the ocean before. Chloe's excitment to the snow reminded me of his face when he saw the ocean for the first time. Truly simple fun.
Our little family snowmobiling. Brad said Chloe would just look up at him with a "I guess-if-you say-it's-okay-dad-then-I-will-go-along-with-this-bumpy-cold-ride". Babies are so trusting.