The kitchen sink

I woke up this morning to a little girl knocking on her door saying "momma" over and over, it was 3 AM. I don't understand why she is not sleeping through the night anymore. So I did something that is very hard for me to do.... I ignored her. I just laid in bed and listened hoping she would get the hint and just go get back in bed and go to sleep. Well she did it took her 20 minutes but it would have taken 2 hours had I gone in there. Britt was not as willing to wait and I had to stop him several times. Alexis then slept until 8:30. I have to get her schedule back on track, she has been going to bed at 11:30pm and waking up at 6 then going back to sleep at 8:30 until 11. Then she is so tired she is crashing at 5pm. Very mixed up and church at 2 doesn't help! Hopefully last night will help get things regular.

If I don't get her sleeping back on the book release on Friday will be crazy. My mom is watching Alexis and I am heading down to a little book store in Sumner for a release party with Amberlynn and Brooke from my ward. It should be a lot of fun, but I want things easier on my mom since she will have Alexis until close to 1am. So excited for Twilight's last book Breaking Dawn I am almost as excited about this as a I was Harry Potter" I saw a trailer for Twilight I hope it is going to be good. I need to reread all of the books, so who knows I may just buy the whole series after all.

We watched Penelope it is so cute. Alexis even liked it or maybe she liked all the candy we let her eat during the movie. Who knows what she actually got out of it but well worth the dollar! I think Alexis is going get a bike for her birthday. It is a tricycle actually, last night at Walmart she wouldn't get off of it. We had to distract her and whisk it away quickly and that left a very distraught 23 month old. It was funny she was holding her hands out in front of her whimpering and would look at me and say "where it go." Britt would have bought it right then had we brought the money for it. Good thing we didn't because I don't want to get her used to us buying her things just because she won't let go off it in the store....that would not be pretty on our budget.

The one at Walmart is pink though! We are going to shop around but it is cute and easy for her to get on and off and push around. I like that the seat back is high so she can't fall off easy. and the little trunk is cute! Ok well I better get going we have a busy day of shopping for the hike Britt is going on this week end. He is going to be a mountain climber guy now, he wants to climb Mount Rainier next year. Some how even having life insurance doesn't make me feel comfortable anymore. I think it would rather him stay home. Oh well I love his ambition!

She did it!

She might potty train herself. Alexis loves to be naked. She will strip her clothes off the second she wets in her diaper, she hates being wet. Today she took off her clothes and I guess really thought that she was going to be grant the privilege of jumping on the couch nude. Nope I got her some panties to wear and she immediately said "Potty, potty!" So we got her potty and she sat down. Now normally if she does go it is a few drops and then she jumps up runs away and finishes the job on the floor, not today. She jumped up and declared "Potty" I looked and sure enough she had gone so I cheered and congratulated her and then she sat down again and went a whole bunch. I made sure that it was a big deal and we clapped and danced. She got to flush the toilet and everything. She is struggling a little since then with dribbles, but it was a huge thing that she went on her own! I am not pushing her I only encourage her since she is a streaker and I might as well. So who knows she might just be mostly trained by her birthday in a month. I think it is going to be harder for me because the most feared part is public restrooms I find it so scary to take a toddler in them to touch things. I may just stay home for the next year until she is older....haha I wish. I got out the new panties and she tried each one on! Britt had her turn around to model them and she turned until she got dizzy. She is so super duper smart. If you have any tips that worked with your kids let me know I might try them out.

REI

Yesterday our power was supposed to be out for 8 hours so we planned a full day of being away from home. Alexis and I went to the park, then we came home(power was still on) picked up Britt and met my parents for lunch at Mazatlan. They offered to watch Alexis for us while we went to the Seattle REI and so we took them up on their offer. Britt and I met the guy buying one of Britt's bikes there at 2:00 and sold him the bike! We then went in to REI. It is huge compared to Tacoma's and has a 65 foot Rock wall you can climb, we are going to go back on a Monday because it is only $15 then. Anyways we went down to the scratch and dent section and found a pair of boats and a whole bunch of stuff people have return, it would shock you what people will return. There was a shirt there that had been bleached and REI took it back, shoes that had been seriously abused and were returned, tents that people had ripped putting up and REI took them all back. OK well we went up stairs so Britt could walk around the testing area. Then for 4 hours more he tried on boots....I am not exaggerating....it was torture. I am so glad we didn't bring Alexis she would not have played on the playground for that long. Britt has blisters on his hand from tying shoes. My brain has become mush from all the shoes he tried on and complained about. Finally this guy named Pete(life-saver) asked how we where doing(probably due to coma like trans I was in) he was a backpacker to the soul and taught Britt all about hiking boots and how they should fit and the difference between Mountaineer, backpacking and hiking boots. So Britt finally picked out a boot, the first ones that we found down in the scratch and dent section. I wanted to shout for joy, he then went and looked at gators, sleeping bags and climbing axes and I was able to steer him to the check out. We got through the line and somewhere Britt had put down our basket and had to run back through the store and find it. We got the boots for $135 they were originally $280, and we got out of there with only spending $50 more then what he sold his bike for. We almost had to go back in because we couldn't find Britt's phone and just as we were turning to go back in the store the cashier came running up to us and asked if it was ours. I was happy that Britt didn't get to go back in because we had forgot our car was parked in the garage and you had to pay. I was happy when our parking only cost us $5, just a few more minutes and it would have been $12. We bought Alexis a monkey that Velcro's onto her with its feet and hands. On the way home we called my parents and Alexis said "Hi" to me I had to really think about who was talking to me because I don't hear her on the phone very often. I asked her if she was being good and she said "Yea" and then I told her we got a surprise for her and she said "yea" and then "Bye" and "Love you." When I got off the phone I got teary eyed because she is just getting so big. I Love her so much. So hopefully he won't need a new pair of boots anytime soon, and if he does I won't be going with him I will go to the spa. HAHA. After all that our power never went out.

Gettin Skinny

I know I wish that title was for me but it is not.... and it can't be for Britt since he can't get much skinnier. So it must be for Alexis. She is 26 pounds same as she has weighed for about 2 months now and 34 inches tall. She has gotten taller though since march when she was 31 inches. That puts her at the 45th percentile for weight and the 61st for height. Now if she wouldn't be such a picky eater she might gain some weight. We had sandwiches today for lunch and she only ate the cheese. Left the meat and bread sitting on the table. Oh well, she isn't starving so she must be getting enough.

All Done

The garage is cleaned out. I am so happy. It was so bad that seriously you couldn't walk into the garage at all without stepping over something and every time I ventured in I would injure myself. So I finally got Britt to help me get it under control(it was his fault it was so messy, only because his organization is patterned after a child's). So we took everything out, except the food storage. I even went through my holiday decorations. I got rid of two boxes of Christmas and one Halloween. I also got rid of all but one box of canning jars. I am not going to get around to in anytime soon so why keep them around. Ok well I haven't got rid of them yet I made an announcement in Relief Society just in case someone wants them before I donate them to the DI. Britt got rid of a bunch of stuff too and still needs to go through his tools. We got all the camping stuff back on it's shelf and the out door toys on their shelf. All the pool stuff is together and easy to access. It is great, we can walk around in there without stepping over and around stuff or getting injured! It is very strange to have empty Rubbermaid's in the garage! The crazy thing is I needed a tape measure today and I still couldn't find one on Britt's tool table....what do you do.

Alexis is really a nice girl

Sometimes I feel really overwhelmed by Alexis and her social interactions with other children and I know that other parents call Alexis a bully and are marking her as a bad kid. I know that you do, because I would too. I just want to express that Britt and I work very hard at trying to teach her that it isn't ok to bite and push kids down. I do have comfort in that most older mom's that I talk to say their children have all done the same thing... all kids go through phases of biting, hitting, scratching, pushing and many other things that embarrass us as parents. I guess I just am upset because Alexis is an amazing girl and has the funniest personality. She captures every one's attention everywhere we go. She is always dancing and singing(even in the shower, it really is the cutest). She copies everything you do only way cuter, she runs and jumps and plays. She has the most infectious laugh especially when she is playing with daddy. Alexis is a choice daughter of Heavenly Father I can feel it every time I look at her, I know that she has a special place with him. She has a special purpose here on Earth and will be a great missionary. When people meet her even for a minute they all love her and I know that she will be a great leader one day. I feel sad that anyone would label her as a bully. Now no body has said this to me I just get that impression. I hope that everyone who has a child that Alexis has injured in someway sees that she is not even 2 yet and most experts agree that she can't be a bully yet....Even though we think she is incredibly smart. I found this article beneficial and I hope you can understand that we are trying to teach her right and that she is still a baby herself regardless of how tall or talkative she is. http://www.parents.com/toddlers/development/social/toddler-hits-bites/ . Well I guess I will go know... just wanted to help ease my mind that everyone knows that we are working with her.

No he didn't

The worst fear of learning to play the piano almost came true today. In Sharing time they wanted a song to be sung and the pianist had stepped out so they asked if anyone played the piano. My dear sweet husband volunteered me. Ok I am petrified to play in front of people and for sure would not have been able to have all the kids sing along to "I'm trying to be Like Jesus." Have you looked at that song....even the top hand takes skill to keep the tempo up for singing.

Anyways they all look at me even the kids and I say no I can't play that song.
They say we just need the top hand
Britt says what have I been paying all that money out for if you aren't going to play in church
My face is a deep red color and I say I will stop coming if you make me play
I corrected myself and said just to primary I will go to all other meetings

Why doesn't he understand that 2 years of lessons is not enough to play in front of people. I am just not ready for that. I would have play a simplified version but didn't have one...and will not ever bring it to church either. One day I will get over my fear, but just like leading the music it won't be anytime soon. So leading the music I did that once in Relief Society, it was very humbling. If you think it is natural it is not, I often thought I can do it I have seen the music lead for years and years. When I got up there I experienced the same color of red on my face and botched the whole thing, it was so awful I begged another lady to take my place for the practice hymn. I think my church service is better left for quiet behind the scenes stuff! Maybe like taking attendence for sunbeams and then letting them run wild for 45 minutes!! Ok well I don't let them run wild but we do have lots of wiggle time.

Hello...Hello....Hello

I feel so out of touch with everyone since my computer died. Well it didn't die but the laptop stopped connecting with the Internet and so it is getting new parts. This is the second time this has happened and the part they are replacing was recalled. don't ask me which one because I don't remember I just said fix it!!! We have been busy and having lots of fun. I will post when I get my laptop back because our other computer is seriously a dinosaur. It is so slow and unresponsive that I can't stand to use it! My computer will hopefully be here in a few days!

Don't put stuff down the drain

While doing my hair today Alexis put her new hair pretty down the drain. I got the sweet look of "What mommy?" when I said "No, No, No Alexis don't put stuff down the drain!" It was too late though it slide down and was gone. Britt took the curved part off when he got home, but it was all the way through. Now had I know that you don't need a tool to take that part off I would have done it myself and maybe could have got it out, but I didn't. Sad so we only have one now and it will have to be for a single ponytail(if we can ever get her hair long enough).

Erin left today to start the trip home to Kansas. We went out to Godfather's pizza lunch buffet with Kate, Chad, Mallori, Jenn, Ashlee and Erin and her kids before she left and to celebrate Alma's birthday again. We had cupcakes at Grandma's house Yesterday and had so much fun. We played in the front yard and played statues... it was great even Alexis was poising. Grandma makes the yummiest frosting, Britt had 4 cupcakes and I had 3 it was that good. Erin left with me checking the air pressure in her tires. The pressure gauge broke apart on the last tire but it went back together easily; said a last goodbye to the kiddos and Alexis blow kisses and said "bye An Ern" and away they went. Good luck on your drive home and hopefully the next time we see you Alexis won't call all 3 boys Alma! Haha!

And the thunder rolls out of control

We have been having some seriously huge thunder and lightening storms this week. Sunday we sat out in the back yard and watched the lightening strike wildly over the roof of our house. Britt had one get so close to him that his hair stood up, well if he hadn't been sitting on the roof of the play set it wouldn't have gotten so close to him. We also were misinformed about how to tell how close it is. Once you see the flash and count to 5 that means it is one mile away, we thought it was a mile for every second we counted, so counting to 10 means it is only 2 miles away not the ten we thought. That storm lasted until late in the night and then last nights was something else. I went to the movies and saw Emma Smith, My story and when we came out we could see the humidity in the air, it was really thick and I had a feeling lightening was on it's way and sure enough as we stood outside the theatre the sky started lighting up and did so all the way home and until about 10 this morning. All night long and it was right over us, it poured and flashed and shook our house. None of us slept very well at all, Alexis is very scared and wraps her arms around us and holds on for dear life. Finally this morning I told her the clouds were growling and that seemed to calm her a little bit. If you think I am exaggerating how bad the storm was last night think again, it seriously lasted all night and every flash and boom kept us from a deep sleep. The rain also kept us from going to the tall ships festival, it last all weekend but I wanted to see them coming in. Ohwell I guess life goes on! Alexis did just take a 3 hour nap though thanks to last nights storm!