For Nicholas

I've known Jessica since grade school, we played soccer together on into high school and she recently found my blog and has been keeping in touch. Just this last week her 11month old son, Nicholas was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. I want to ask those of you that read my blog to please sign this petition for research money on the disease and to keep her family in your prayers. Her blog is listed down below so you can read her story. If you can, pass this on. Thank you.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/182/petition-to-cure-SMA

Crafty things

So I've been crafty! I've finished four of the five things I was contracted to make for my blogging friends and three of them have been delivered. I took pictures before I sent some of them off so I could "showcase" them and who they went to. Yvonne, if you could take a picture of yours and send it to me, that would be GREAT! And Allysia, I need you to email me your address so I can mail yours off!

For Jessica: you can't tell from the pictures, but the words are on the outside of the glass, it is a more 3D image.


For Melissa: I only gave her the eggs, not the whole basket:)

Easter, Legoland, Zoo, fun!

OK, I'm a little bit behind on posts, we've been busy! The Saturday before Easter we went to a community Easter egg hunt, it was FREEZING but the kids enjoyed the themselves and the candy. On Easter we had an egg hunt in the living room, Easter baskets, church, and then to the Daffodil Gardens. It was so bittersweet because it was (as always) beautiful, but it was also the very last day the garden would be open, ever. The gardner has been doing this for over 40 years so she's retiring, sad. On Thursday Damen and I ventured to Legoland YEAH! We had a really good time, it was hot and crowded(spring break) but we had fun. Then on Saturday we went to the Zoo with our friends Dan, Melissa and Olivia. I couldn't find a good picture of Damen and Olivia together but they had a good time running around the zoo. What a busy busy fun fun week!!

POO (yes that's what I'm talking about)

Ok, way back when we started potty training, in January I think, we didn't focus too much on pooping, I figured we'd get what we could into the toilet and be grateful. Well, here we are almost three months later with a very well "potty" trained boy, but not so much a "poopy" trained boy.
We've tried everything to get him to poop in the toilet, bribes, lectures, taking things away, giving him things, trying to catch him in the act, playing it low key, EVERYTHING!! Then after asking most everyone and reading almost everything about it, I called my friend Kelly, who I've known since before we could even remember hanging out (like 6months old), who has 4 kids, and I figured she could tell me something I hadn't heard already. And she did! She told me her oldest daughter wouldn't go for anything, just didn't care(same as Damen), so they told her she could go to Disneyland if she went in the toilet and that sealed the deal. I thought about it and figured Damen was just too young to even understand what that would mean, but I tried it anyway. I showed him a video of Bob the Builder at Legoland and told him if he pooped in the toilet we could go there and see him in person, and whatdoyaknow, IT WORKED!!! He's not perfect, who is, but since Sunday he has gone in the toilet almost every day, and today no accidents so far!!! HALLELUJAH!!! So, Legoland here we come and thanks Kelly.

Knock-Knock

Me: Knock Knock
Damen: what?
Me: Who's there?
Damen: Damen!
Me: Damen who?
Damen: I two!!

Wild Animals

Yesterday we went to the Wild Animal Park with our friends Bonnie and Melissa and their kids. The weather was great and the animals were very cooperative for the pictures, even the kids were pretty good. We got to see the baby elephant, only three weeks old, and the butterfly exhibit was AMAZING!! It was really a great day and we hope to go back for another visit soon.









These monkeys were the hardest to take pictures of! Damen, Chelsea and Olivia.

Happy to be me.

As I was listening to Dustin bathe Damen in the next room, the sounds of laughter and splashing fill the house, it occurred to me I'm really happy to be me. Today we lounged around in our Pj's listening to conference, took naps, and listened to more conference. With some help from Dustins mom I decided I could make sugar cookies and frosting with just one stick of butter and no milk in the fridge(instant dry milk). So with Damen at my side we made sugar cookie dough, frosting, and dinner. After dinner we stayed at the table and rolled out, cut, baked, and decorated sugar cookies, just because we could. We felt the spirit in our home today, I'm really happy to be me.

The fruits of our labor:

Damen, after eating all the sprinkles/frosting he could:

The art of Cookie cutting:

With my new camera I can take pics in sepia, he's chewing on a puzzle piece, not a cookie.