Fun Stuff

Last week Tia finally got sick. I was hoping she would escape, but alas she did not. However, I was prepared and luckily she is really good at taking care of herself. So, I made sure she had plenty of time to sleep, Powerade, and sleep. Luckily it did not last as long as really anyone else, so we are very blessed that it is now gone and will hopefully stay that way FOREVER. (bahahaha I wish)

This is Kylee longingly gazing out the backdoor at the snow that was falling when Gaupo and I were sick. She wanted to go out so bad, but we wouldn't take her. She has her snow hat, shoes, and jacket on. It was so sad.

We also went to Itty Bitty City when Gaupo was sick, but I was feeling good again. Here are Tia and Kylee playing with the toys. They thought this was a lot of fun.

Well, now that we are not sick we have finally done some stuff. The first thing I did when Tia was feeling sort of well was to try to potty train her. Oh man, it was so stressful. Not just because of the accidents, but because she doesn't talk. She could never warn me or get my attention because she doesn't talk. She doesn't even say mom. After about 5 days, I decided that I would try again when she can talk. I really think she is totally capable of doing it because she shows almost all the signs of readiness, but that whole not talking thing is really difficult because you have to watch their every move. Life has been much more enjoyable since we stopped this bit.

We also did a couple of swim trips during potty training. It was really fun, because the first time we did it at the pool next to our house and the girls love climbing in and out, in and out. The next time was with Dad and we went to the Rec Center. I love when we go there with Gaupo because then I get to play a little too. I love diving into the water. I am not very good and can't do anything cool, but I love the feeling of going into the water. It was a really fun day there.

Once I decided to stop potty training and we aren't sick we have had some more adventures. I took the girls to babysitting at the Rec Center. Kylee was so excited to go back there she has really missed it I think. Then when I finished running we went swimming. It was a lot of fun because we had the whole pool almost to ourselves. So we splashed, giggled, were silly, and just had a lot of fun together in the water. Then today we took the bus to the Library. Kylee thought it was weird that they had no buckles, but overall she enjoyed it. Also, we had a little time to walk around and explore around the Library, so that was kind of fun. Sometimes I really like exploring at my kids pace because you have time to notice so much more and it is really interesting what they think is fascinating. Today Tia was totally enthralled by the flags. She noticed every flag pole we passed. She also loved all stairs, but that is not a big surprise. Kylee kept wanting us to keep up with her, but she also slowed down a little and enjoyed seeing some new things as well. When we got to the library we had story time, played with the toys, and got some books. Then we got to ride home with Daddy, which the girls thought was pretty cool.

As an update, Kylee just finished her first session of swim lessons. This week they had two teachers in their class which helped a TON. There was such a difference in levels that it was I am sure really hard for one teacher. I mean there was Kylee who wouldn't let go of the wall for anything, or put her face in. Then there were others who were almost swimming and trying to test to skip the next level. Anyway, with the two teachers Kylee was able to get someone on one help and has really come a long ways. This is how it went...

First class: wouldn't get in the water. They finally lifted her into the pool, but that is about as far as went.

Few lessons later: She would walk into the water and hold onto the wall. She wouldn't front float, or back float, but she would participate in splashing and would try to stick with her class.

This week: She has started to let go of the wall. She will do a front float and back float with help. She will blow bubbles. She likes to show me her ice cream scoop arms and she tries to do it in the pool, but is still a little nervous about walking alone. She also genuinely tried today to do things with her class.

Thank you City of Longmont for helping us come this far. I got really frustrated sometimes because it didn't seem like anything was changing and that she would never get it, but it looks like we will and the best part is she likes it. She really likes going to swim lessons and I am so glad. I am grateful for the steps she has taken this week and hopefully we can continue to build on them.

Here are some pictures to enjoy.

Tia and Kylee being silly in their bike helmets.

Kylee filling her bucket with rocks.

Tia playing in the house. She loves opening and closing that door.

My True Loves.

General Conference piggy painting party. Everyone's got done.

Kylee looking beautiful.

Tia looking beautiful.

3 Kids Trial Run and Excercise

I know three kids comes first in the title but I am going to do my exercise thought first. So, recently I have noticed that if you want your kids to want to exercise it starts when they are young. I believe it starts with our examples as parents. I was talking to my mom the other day about how I couldn't believe she got up for so many years at 5:00AM to go walking. As I was saying this to her, I realized that there was a seed about exercise planted when I was young. I knew it was important to my mom long before we ever talked about it and WAY long before I ever became interested in actually running. It started from my mom showing me the way to do it. Then this morning Gaupo and I were doing our workout and  we invited the girls to join us. Our girls think it is so fun to kick their legs when we do flutter kicks, run the loop as we are running, shoot baskets with us, and a lot of other things depending on their mood. However, my kids don't look at exercise right now as something that is difficult or hard; instead they see it as a game. I think right now is when it starts. It doesn't mean that my kids will be into working out or sports or anything, but at least they grow up knowing it means something to me and I think that is a step in the right direction.

Alright now for our 3 kids for 3 days. This last week I had the opportunity to watch a little boy named Ethan while his parents were at work. I learned a lot of things in those three days. As for the three kids thing, I saw both the crazy side and the good side. I mean it always seemed like something was going on. It was great that Kylee or Tia had a buddy to play with. Sometimes that was tricky because it almost seemed like when two were playing it was really hard for the third to join. It was crazy trying to get anywhere. It seemed to take so long to get shoes on, jackets on, potty used, and out the door. I am seriously going to need like an hour before hand to do anything when I have three kids. The first two days I watched Ethan it was like perfect. The kids played, they slept good, they got along it was great and was thinking "What is so hard about three kids?" Then the third day came and oh boy. All the kids were a little off, kind of grouchy, no one want to listen to me or eat very well, naps were short, and I took them to the library which was good, but man it seems a lot harder to keep track of three kids. I doubt that I really got a good taste of 3 kids, but man it was sure overwhelming that day. I really wanted nap time to last forever. It was a crazy and fun adventure and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I tell ya three kids can be a little tricky especially if one is sick (Kylee).

I also want to note it was very interesting to have a boy thrown into the mix of girls here. I have never had a boy and so it was interesting to experience that too. I don't really know how to explain it, but boys are really different than girls even if they are both super chill, the same age, and capable of doing the same things. They just do them different. Oh, it was an adventure let me tell you.

Here are the three kids playing in the garden dirt. Luckily we hadn't planted anything yet.

Easter 2015

This last week I got sick. Then Gaupo got sick, and now Kylee is sick. It's cough, runny nose, and achy. By nap time and the end of the day your just pooped and want so sleep, but luckily miracles happen and we were still able to have a wonderful Easter weekend.

The first of the of our Easter miracles began one Friday. After taking a short nap, I woke up coughing which really annoyed me, but I woke up not tired so that was good. I decided with the little bit of time I had I would start sewing on Kylee's Easter dress. I had finished Tia's on Tuesday, but had been so sick that going downstairs and sewing soooo did not appeal to me. Anyway, I was able to get Kylee's dress cut out even though I had to do most of it with my girls awake. Then that night I still was feeling pretty well, so I was able to sew on it for another two hours. However, before I started I said a prayer because I needed help. Tia's dress had taken over a week to do and I had to pick out sooooooooooo many stitches that I am lucky I even made anything for Kylee. So, before I started sewing on Kylee's dress I said a prayer to Heavenly Father asking him to help this dress be sewn right the first time so that I could get it done for Easter. It was amazing because on the part I did that night I only had to pick out one seam. Then on Saturday night after I laid the girls down I started sewing and was able to finish Kylee's dress, so it could be hanging outside her room on Easter morning. She was so excited to have it finished. I had warned her she probably wouldn't have one on Easter because I had gotten sick and it takes awhile to make these things. However, Heavenly Father cares about me, even about something as silly as dress making and blessed me to be able to have matching dresses for my girls.

The second miracle is that Kylee was not super sick till after Easter Sunday. Kylee got up on Easter morning and looked down the stairs and saw her and Tia's baskets and she comes running back and opens our door saying "He came, the Easter Bunny came." She was so excited. So we all got up and went downstairs where Kylee immediately started hunting the eggs the Easter Bunny left. Tia on the other hand was completely content with her little stash in her basket. we finally took her basket away and she hunted for eggs and did really good. It was so fun to watch those two search and search.

The third miracle is that General Conference was on Easter. I think that is so cool. Conference alone was awesome. My favorite talk was one given on learning to hear the music of the Gospel. We do a lot of music and dance parties around hear so it just really resonated with me. I want to know the step for dancing to the music but I also want to hear the music and joyously dance to it. Also, I got make scrumptious food and enjoy it with my family. My husband went to the Priesthood session and came home totally full of life (that is no small miracle). It was just so nice to have the Gospel and teaching of Christ be in my home on Easter.

Another thing I got to do to remember the true Easter is help Kylee with a 'Getting Ready for Easter' activity that was in the Friend. It was so nice to remember the story and thing of how we can be like the Savior. We have the activity on the fridge and I love that Kylee is still asking about it. The questions she asks are kind of hard for me to answer, but I love that she is thinking about it and loving it.

It wasn't a super crazy Easter which is exactly why I love it. It was fun, but still centered around the True reason for Easter. Plus, I also got to be reminded of my Heavenly Father's love for me, and even though I don't get everything I want, he still loves me and helps me see the good in everything around me.

Enjoy the pictures.

Tia trying to get that candy open.

Kylee hunting for eggs.

This face is the greatest. As a side note, those beads are very often found around Tia's neck.

Easterness.

Two sisters in matching dresses. Pardon the crazy hair Kylee was too excited to find eggs to worry about hair.