St. Patricks Day and sickness

This week has been full of fun. Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day and I had to work. In the morning I got a phone call from Chloee telling me that she found "bear prints" in the house. I questioned her and I heard her ask Tyler "what was it? Oh, Mom a Leprechaun came to our house and left green footprints. He also left a pot with rings, a necklace and gold coins." She was so excited that the leprechaun came to our house, she had to take the pot of gold to Grandma Gae's house. What fun!

The rest of the week has been filled with sickness. Brooke has had some stomach bug for a week now that left her with the worst diaper rash. Every time we would change her diaper she would cry before we even started. I felt horrible. Nothing I did seemed to work. We went to the doctor on Wednesday and got nystatin cream for her bum and he told me to try lactose free or soy milk for a while to see if that would help. We tried soy milk and she still had diarrhea. I don't know what to do with her. Nothing we tried helped so I've given up and put her back on whole milk, and I try to feed her whatever she'll eat. Since she's been sick and we've been around her Tyler and I both got some bug as well. We are both feeling better, now if we can just get Brooke to feel better. Her diaper rash is much better after the nystatin thank goodness.

Saturday was probably the best day this week. We went over to Tyler's parents house to help with the remodel of their kitchen. Tyler's sisters and I took the grandkids to the park so the boys could work. We had such a fun time being out in the warm sun and fresh air. The adults even got into the fun trying to swing around the bar like we did when we were kids. To our surprise all of us could still swing up onto the bar. Tracie was the only one brave enough to attempt and complete a cherry drop. Oh to be kids again. After playing for a while we decided to walk to the gas station close by and get water and treats for everyone. What a job that was tyring to keep 7 kids from going into the road and then once at the gas station letting them pick their own treat for under a dollar. It reminded Tyler's sisters of the good old days when they would ride their bikes to Texaco and even downtown to the pool. My mom would never let us ride our bikes downtown, let alone to the pool by ourselves. After our adventure we came home and crashed. Poor Chloee was sunburned and exhausted from playing in the sun all day. What a great way to end the week.

Disney on Ice

Today Chloee, myself, my parent, sister and my brother's family all went to Disney on Ice. We had a blast. Chloee loved every minute of it. Chloee loves Playhouse Disney and anything Mickey and Minnie Mouse. During the week before we went I would ask Chloee "Guess what tomorrow is?" She would reply "Disney on Ice!" I would than have to say, "no you get to go to school, or you get to go to Grandma Gae's, or dance." She was so excited about going. I told Tyler I was going to buy her a souvenir and he was ok with that. She chose a Little Mermaid light stick that sings "Under the Sea". She kept playing it over and over again during the show. I have to say that Disney really knows how to put on a show. Chloee was entertained the entire time. We had great seats, row 12, and could see everything. At intermission my brother said he was going to move down to the first row next to the ice so we all followed and sat 4 feet away from the ice and could almost touch the cast members, it was great. During the show I would look over at Chloee and she had the biggest grin on her face. I loved how happy she was. After the show my family went to dinner and what a time we had finding a restaurant to eat at, but that's a whole different story. All in all I wish Tyler would have been there to see Chloee, so next time the show is in town, we might just have to take Tyler and Brooke.

10 1/2 Months

I can't believe that my baby is 10 1/2 months. April is only a month away and she'll be 1 years old. She is growing up so big. It's been fun to watch her go through the stages of development. She is now crawling on her hands and feet and walking along furniture and with assist from anyone. She would rather be down on the ground walking and getting into everything. Her favorite thing to get into is the garbage can. If I can't see her I know she's playing in the trash, gross. When Chloee was her age, my parents bought her a toy to walk behind and that turns into a toy to ride. Well one day Tyler was backing out of the garage and smashed the one of the wheels. We decided that we wanted to get one for Brooke too. She loves it and I'm afraid she'll be walking on her own soon. Here are some pics of her and Chloee.

Last weekend my family headed to sunny St. George. We went Friday to Sunday and had a great time. I was worried about the drive down there since we haven't traveled much with Brooke, but she did great. Chloee borrowed Heather's DVD player and watched movie after movie. After we passed Nephi she asked "How far is St. George?" and then never asked after that. When we arrive we unpacked the truck and the boys: Tyler, Jonathan, Chad, Scott, my dad, Elliott, Derek and the girls: McKenzie, Courtney and Danny went on a short bike ride. My mom, Andrea and myself were the shuttle drivers. The bike ride was so much fun they decided to ride it again. After that we went to dinner and then Tyler took Chloee swimming. They didn't swim much because the water was so cold, even for the indoor pool. The next day my mom and I went for a walk/run around the neighborhood and ended up going a lot farther than we thought. Andrea got worried and came to look for us. The boys then went on a more advanced bike ride and much longer called Gooseberry Mesa. They all had a fun time. While they were gone the girls stayed home and took the kids to the park. The park was one of the best parks that I've ever been too. There was a rock wall for the kids to climb on, about five different slides, swings, teeter tooters, and a huge open grass area. The kids had a blast playing and running. After the park my mom and I went shopping with Kenzie and Courtney at the outlets. Then we went to Inn-n-Out Burger to eat dinner and enjoyed every bite. Their fries are amazing. We had such a fun and relaxing time I can't wait until we can go again.

Happy Valentines Day

Hope everyone had a great Valentines day. Tyler and I took the girls to the mall and got ice cream at Coldstone last night and then let Chloee play on the awesome tree house for awhile. So today we had a pretty relaxing day. I went and played basketball with the women in my ward this morning and then Grandma Gae and Lindsay came over to give the girls Valentines gifts. Chloee was so excited. This morning she woke up to her room with hearts all over the walls. Tyler and I decorated their rooms as part of their Valentines gift. Chloee loved it.

Since Tyler and I chose not to go out for dinner and wait forever we stayed home with the girls. I made the best Chicken Parmesan, so moist and cheesy and had chocolate fudge pudding for dessert. We invited Chloee to join us and ate with candlelight. She had a great time and kept turning the lights out so all we had were the candles. We had fun. I love sharing new things and ideas with the girls and enjoying times as a family.

Jumpin'

Today the girls and I went with their cousins and Grandma Gae to Jumping Jacks. We had a blast. Chloee was excited to see her cousins and play on the toys that are there. She went on every toy except the big dragon, it was a little scary. She even went down the gigantic slide. I was so proud of her. Here are a few of the pictures from the day.



After Jumping Jacks the girls and I went to visit my grandparents. I love visiting them and the time we share with them. I'm grateful that they are a part of my children's lives. They are leaving their mark on them and I'm eternally grateful. Chloee loves visiting Grandpa and Grandma "Frap". What a great day!

HAIR!!!!

Last night I decided to put Chloee's hair in sponge curlers, like I had when I was a little girl. I wasn't sure she would sleep on them but was suprised when Tyler said she laid right down for bed. I used the smallest curlers because Chloee's hair does not keep curl for very long, still being baby fine. I kept them in extra long and this is what she looked like when I took them out.



















I didn't know what I was going to do to fix this. I thought if I did her hair later in the day that it would relax a little and then I could fix it, this is what she looked like after her nap.



Her hair turned out ok. She looks like Shirley Temple. I think if we decided to curl her hair again with sponges curlers, we'll use a bigger size. I guess we try and then try again, until we get it right. I'm just glad I tried this when we didn't have to be anywhere special.