Halloween Pictures

The last two Fridays we've had (cousin) Luke over for some Halloween fun:

A little dress up relayMummiesHalloween treats--bones (pretzels w/ marshmallow ends dipped in white chocolate) monster toes (Nutter Butters dipped in green chocolate with 1/2 Dot for a toenail) TP tubes wrapped in crepe paper for mummies.
Now for the costumes: Chandler went to school as a sportscaster, he came home as a football coach--and he didn't even change clothes!

Long story on Tessa's costume. . . it wasn't intentional that Greta was a butterfly and Tessa was a butterfly princess (a Fancy Nancy dress up piece), but I'll spare you the long story as it involves potty training. I was just happy to find something to motivate her enough to get over a frustrating hump.As Tessa ran from house to house trick or treating, she said, "I LOVE Halloween!". After I told Tom that from here on out we are going to have a high strung girl from October to December. October for Halloween, November for her birthday and December for Christmas. (and we keep hoping she'll sleep better as she gets older--who are we kidding????)

Settling

Last Friday I took Greta back to her pediatric ophthalmologist for a check up. I left feeling so settled. He said her glasses are working exceptionally well and that she can see so much better (we can tell this too). Among other things he said, "She can see straight as an arrow with them." I mentioned a bit about my quandry getting the glasses and he said, "Well, whoever did them did a fantastic job; because they are done so well she can see straight." My mind went back to Ellen, the pediatric optician, who told us the importance of the first pair of glasses and getting the correction in the right spot. She said that measuring pupil distance on a baby, especially one with strabismus is very difficult. The thing they hold up to an older person's eyes to measure pupils just doesn't work on a baby and holding up a ruler (like the two other opticians did when we were fitting other pairs for her) doesn't usually get it right enough. Then you throw in an eye that doesn't straighten out and you have even a more difficult time getting the correction in the right place. How she measured was genius. She put on a pair of baby glasses and covered one eye and got the uncovered eye to look forward. She made a mark on the glasses with a Sharpie marker. Then she covered the other eye and repeated it. After she took the glasses off, she measured the distance between the two lines. At that time I didn't realize how important that really was. I left the ophthalmologist's office just so thankful. Thankful for early intervention. Thankful we ended up at Moran Eye Center. Thankful I had the courage to bring it up to her pediatrician in the first place. Thankful Greta can see so much better now. (One of my favorite changes is her giggling and babbling more than she did before.) Just so thankful.

Inevitable

When you've got a little girl who is so curious and busy. . . .

When that girl is so girlie girlie. . .

When that little girl looks for every opportunity to sneak into mom's bathroom. . . .

It was just a matter of time before this will happen:

Go Cart

Caleb has been wanting to build a go-cart for a long, long time. He actually got money to spend toward supplies for his 13th birthday over a year ago. But, winter came, wheels were hard to find, neither he nor Tom quite knew how to approach the whole thing so go-cart building came to a screeching halt. Then last spring Caleb found some perfect wheels on an axle at DI. (They are actually motorcycle training wheels--folks like me didn't know such a thing existed.) But another set was still needed. Months later our little red tricycle got a some rough treatment and snapped in half (big boys really shouldn't ride tricycles!). Bad fortune turned good however because now Caleb has some back wheels for his car. Tom and Caleb worked together on it every now and again, but were stumped on brake logistics. So go cart building resumed its place on the back burner. Then we realized my parents were coming down for the BYU's homecoming extravaganza and the TCU game and they had a day to spend with us. Perfect time for Grandpa to help Caleb tackle the brake problem. And in one day, it was finished! The grin on Caleb's face says it all. There are still a few tweaks Caleb wants to make like getting faster back wheels, lining a few parts with diamond plate, adding some reflectors and numbers etc. But having this much done is so awesome. Thanks grandpa!

Trying it down our steep driveway. Steering is done with a rope that runs through eye screws that are on a board that is attached with a single large screw.
You can see how they made the brake work: the pedal is a piece of wood that is attached with a hinge then goes back to a piece of wood on the back that has and old tire piece on it. When the pedal is pushed, it pulls the board to put pressure on the back wheel. Pretty cool!
Caleb's first passenger was Tessa. Both loved the ride down the slight incline we live on (although, it was way too slow for Caleb!).

Always a Teacher

A little over a month ago I ran into this site and fell in love with the concept of these wall hangings. I think they so spoke to me so loudly because as a teacher I used walls and bulletin boards to teach, remind and inspire. And with this concept I could still do that in my home. (While I love the look of vinyl lettering on walls, it hasn't grabbed me like this did.) But I didn't necessarily want any of the canvases available nor was I willing to pay that kind of money. So I decided that I could make my own.

I've been sitting with an undecorated living room for almost 5 years not knowing what I wanted to do with the walls. So it's quite unbelievable that that very afternoon I ran out and got me a couple of canvases (at 40% off). It was also impulsive for me because at that juncture I didn't know what I was going to put on them! However in the wee hours one morning a few days later, I knew. (click to enlarge if desired) These are adapted quotes from Elder Christofferson's talk last April. These were so fun because I felt like a teacher, a scrapbooker and a mom all wrapped up in one! Now to get the rest of the room finished. . . .

The Proclamation

After reading this article in the Ensign I felt our family would benefit greatly from memorizing the Proclamation. When I read it, we had a dozen or so chapters left in reading the Book of Mormon as a family so it was a perfect new challenge after that was completed. The idea met a lot of resistance from each family member, including me. It seemed such a daunting task but I felt strongly we needed to do it. We started about the time school started and finished last week. I have to say that for me personally it has brought such amazing blessings and understanding. As I worked (and worked) to memorize it (I had to do extra homework because my memory wasn't good enough to keep up with my kids) the messages internalized and little insights and impressions came to me like never before. I have become truly thankful for that prophetic document. We will continue to practice it each time we come to the last page of the For Strength of Youth pamphlet--as it is on the last page. Hopefully this is often enough to keep it fresh in our minds. I want it to continue to bless my life and the lives of my children.

As a reward we took the kids out to breakfast. We went to a place in Layton called Doug and Emmy's. It was a bit of a dump (okay, quite a dump) so my appetite was slightly tainted. But they sure brought a lot of food! This was the cinnamon roll! And this is Tess's half order of a pancake. The hot chocolate everyone LOVED (that's what's all over Tess's shirt in the picture above). I think everyone liked it but me. (I have major issues looking around at how unclean the floor and walls are and start wondering what the kitchen looks like. It's a very good thing that I went to the bathroom AFTER I ate. I would not have let anyone else take a bite! But perhaps I'm a bit phobic in that department.) Then we went to our favorite store--at least for entertainment purposes--Smith and Edwards. Everyone got a little money to spend and of course we all got lots of good laughs. And to keep my kids happy, I kept the camera in my purse, so no pictures of that. All in all a very good morning and for a very worthwhile effort! {And thanks to those good kids who honor their mother even when they don't want to.}

Polly Woes

It's definitely been an adjustment the past few weeks with Greta's glasses. And while I know I really have no room for complaint because she does leave them on quite well, there still is a little of this:And that is one reason she can't go in the car seat wearing her glasses. I'm finding that to be the biggest pain about the whole pollies thing. Four days after we got the glasses we were at Smart Cookie for FHE treats. I looked over at her and she had them pulled down sucking on them. I noticed that the red mark from her nose piece was a different shape and more prominent. I took off her glasses and noticed one nose piece was missing. Panic. Thankfully later we found the piece AND the screw in the van, but up until that time I was a worry case. (I had been cleaning them on the way to Smart Cookie and they must have come off then--so now I tighten up all of the screws each night). The other major mishap happened because of them being taken off for a car ride. I have a little ritual and spot for them when I drive, but one time while Tom was driving I forgot I had the pollies in my lap. When I got out of the van they went sliding across the cement and scratched the lenses. Gulp.

However, her pulling them off is happening less and less and she often cries when we take them off so we know she likes them. Changes I've noticed: She has always studied me and watched me closely, but other people have said that Greta now studies them too. I've also noticed that she doesn't concentrate on me when I hold her as much--she looks around a lot more. She also is picking up small things off the floor and getting them into her mouth. But the biggest difference is her not crying about tummy time. She'll spend time playing on her tummy for a while now. Her personality is still laid back and not in too big of a hurry to be mobile, but she can roll now even though she doesn't choose do do it often. The other issue that will probably get worse before it gets better is eating. When we feed her she does the typical baby motor sound spewing food in all directions--including on her pollies. Rice cereal is fun to get off. I'm really looking forward to peas and spaghetti and birthday cake.

I am adjusting to her 'new kind of cute', as I call it. I heard about someone else's baby getting glasses and the mom going through a bit of a mourning period. I find myself doing that also. I know it is silly, but it is occurring none the less. I have to say that I love her even more deeply because of the pollies and I think she is adorable in them, but there still is a bit of a sadness about the whole thing. But that's okay. It is part of learning the whole bitter-sweetness of life and learning to be more compassionate and learning my role as a mother to little Greta. {Greta enjoying Chandler's football game.}

Football Attire

Chandler is so attentive to detail when it comes to sportswear. We often hear statements like "You know the Underarmour John Beck wore against San Diego in 2006 and against Wyoming in 2005. . . . . . ?" Even though we hear things like that near daily, it still leaves us scratching our heads--how does he know and notice all of this? So when we got to his flag football game and noticed wrist bands around his cleats and pads on his forearms I was not the least bit surprised. Pure entertainment.

Plates

The boys each have personalized plates so when they were doing them at RS I jumped at the chance to make one for the girls. Now we're anxiously awaiting their arrival. We took them across the street to Sister Hucks to send them off and now Tess wants to check the Hucks' mail every day for them. It is such a hard concept to learn to wait--especially with a personality like hers.

1st Birthday Party

Tess was invited to our cute neighbor's birthday party. She was so excited to go. (too bad her mouth was full of cankers so she didn't want to chew the gum or eat the party food). Note her cute leggings Grandma made and the purses off to the side. She is girl through and through!With Tessa's personality, this will be the first of many parties she'll probably attend!

Dress Up

Tess doesn't play with toys for very long, but she can be occupied by clothes for hours. Sometimes she tries on every item of clothing in her clothes bins--even dirty laundry, other times she utilizes the dress up box. If I were to give a conservative estimate I would say she makes at least 50 clothing article changes a day (shoes/socks/hat included). It is hilarious and I definitely should take more pictures (but she rarely holds still so the times I try, it results fruitless). But here are a few gems as of late:

Some how this shirt and skirt match because they both have flowers. She loves these shoes and coat our neighbors, the Pehrson's, gave her even though they are obviously too big. (btw, we had her in the dr. the other day and @ almost 3 years old she only weighs 21 lbs. 2 oz.) Note the sunglasses to finish off the outfit--upside down of course because they don't fall off her face like that. Tessa's cousin, Abby (age 10!), made this cute little blue dress for her. She loves it, but obviously is still working on understanding other coordinating items. But at least she has the modesty thing down (Well, for that day, since at this moment of typing she is running around in a swim suit, knee high socks and pink high tops).Dress up with someone else is always more fun than by yourself. Unfortunately our dress up box mostly contains real clothes that just don't fit Tess right now or ones that I don't want her to wear out of the house. (not that that matters because she mixes up dress up clothes and regular clothes all the time and often insists on wearing the combinations out and about.) So when we have friends over, options are limited for bigger bodies. Thankfully Estee found a few glitzy things that fit her. One more. The pink is actually a dress. Very nice with the jeans.PS. I added a few more items to the Tessa Documentation post below if you are interested.

Eagle Court of Honor

We had Caleb's Eagle Court of Honor in conjunction with his ordination. It was a nice evening honoring a great kid. He gave his mentor pin to Cache--which was a surprise to me but it was sweet and made me cry. Caleb really looks up to Cache. Here is a picture of my two Eagle Scouts. 2/3 of the way done!

Thanks for these pictures, Carolyn.

Teacher Ordination

Caleb was ordained a teacher on Sunday. Here are his ordination pictures to compare. They grow SO much in those two years!

Crazy Thursday (a VERY long post)

To preface the events of the day, two items from Wednesday need to be mentioned:
1) Tom's truck was in the shop fixing a loud noise that occurred when driving over 50mph. Came to a lovely total of $921.
2) Got the call that Greta's glasses were ready. The boo-hoo/yahoo feeling swept all over again.

However, Thursday began all cheery with excitement about Greta finally being able to see. "Today is the day your life is going to change forever." I chirped to her almost every other sentence. It wasn't the greatest day to have to go to Salt Lake to get the pollies because Chandler had a birthday party, Caleb and Chandler both had football games and I had a Primary meeting, but we figured a way for it to all work out quite comfortably anyway.

Tom called me on his way to work double checking his part in the whole plan then we had a nice cheery chat that left me smiling since it was an out-of-the-ordinary-time-of-day call for us. About 10 minutes later I heard his ring tone on my phone again. This time the mood was a bit stressed. He was stranded on the freeway--the original problem with the truck still existed and had gotten worse. As he pulled over, the truck coughed, screeched and made other very objectionable noises until he could get off an exit. I offered to go get him, but he decided he better have the truck towed back to the shop and to call a guy from work to come and pick him up. Joy.

Meanwhile I busied myself with throwing something in the crock pot, putting a loaf of bread in the pan for the kids to have after school, finishing up my things for my Primary meeting, emailing Cache revised plans for the day, getting bags packed for the girls and getting us all ready to head out the door.

At the thought of more money out of pocket for repairs, going to lunch with Tom as planned seemed a bit excessive, but he didn't have a vehicle and he hadn't taken a lunch so that plan remained (and of course Tess, Greta & I loved every minute of it!). After lunch we dropped Tom back off to work. His parting words were: "It's going to be okay. And BE HAPPY!" With that, the girls and I headed to Salt Lake to pick up Jerry and Carolyn who so kindly offered to go with me (I always need someone to hold my hand on these kinds of things). Jerry decided to stay at work so we headed up the hill to Moran with just grandma. Things went well. . . the optician thought the glasses fit quite well without having to cut the post (yay!) and she said we would need the headband to keep them on regardless of the option we chose. So while I'm not super happy with the band option, if we have to have it regardless, I'd much rather have the frames all one color. And besides being little eye-sized magnifying glasses like I already knew they'd be, I was happy. Here is a little video taken by Grandma of her first moments in the pollies.

After I had all my questions answered we headed out. Tessa had been wanting to go to the zoo and what better time than a lovely fall weekday. . . .however half way up the hill, I noticed the street was lined with cars and kids were dressed in Halloween costumes. Upon arriving at the zoo I realized that school closures for UEA across the valley and Hogle zoo (I'm assuming) offering trick or treating brought carloads of people! I could NOT find a parking space and with the newly revised day's plans, I only had a little over an hour. I decided that swimming through so many kids was not going to be worth it. So we headed back to Temple Square to the Children's Museum. Fun. Tess loved dressing up and playing with dolls all of the whole 20 minutes we could stay. My time calculations, however, turned out to be not very astute because by the time the girls were buckled up we had 10 minutes to make a 30 minute drive, stop and pick up Tom, in rush hour traffic. So I had to hurry and make up plan C. We made arrangements for Caleb to get to his game, Chandler to get home from the party and hopefully we would make it home in time to get Chan to his game. A few minutes to 6:00, we picked him up curbside and dashed off to his game, then back home again (jiggety jig) to replenished ourselves with the meal that had been simmering all day. And then I was off to my meeting. That ran a little late and I came home to a screaming Greta--just too much of a day for her and she needed mommy to wind down. After that was accomplished, and realizing Tom's truck was still under the weather so I would be vehicle-less the next day, I decided we needed to make a (near-midnight) dash to get Greta a few new toys to help keep her hands off her glasses. And we needed milk. So off we went. We felt a bit like college students again, but as Tom pointed out, it was probably still a bit early for that. It ended up being enjoyable--we both needed it after our day to comfort and cheer each other. So good. (And I think it will have to count as our date for the week because of the football game and conference.)

So after 24 hours with the new pollies here are a few thoughts:
>Nursing a baby with glasses is a bit tricky.
>How is a baby with glasses supposed to rub her eyes?
>Greta has left the pollies on quite well for the most part--she tugs at them the most when she is hungry or tired. The mom-deemed-necessary bow seems a little bit more of a nuisance.
>Baby pollies need to be cleaned 3-4 times a day!
>Taking them off and then putting them back on for a nap is something I'm going to have to get used to.
>Cuddling and kissing a baby with pollies is not quite the same :( :( .
>People who've made comments have all said "How do you know a baby needs glasses?" And then they proceed to tell me of some relative they know that got glasses at a young age--usually ages 5-7. I'm sorry, but, it's not quite the same in my mind. (Cache got them in 1st grade so I think I know.)
>Tessa has been really pretty good about leaving them alone. She said today "The doctor said we have to leave Greta's glasses on?" So thankful she seemed to understand--the adjustment with Greta is big enough.
>I think the pollies make her look a little older--one person yesterday made a comment that indicated she thought Greta was a year old. While I don't think they add that much to her age, they do add a little.
>Headaches with these glasses are very possible. How do I know when she has one and how long are they a possibility? (a few days, a week, two weeks?)
>It was recommended to not let Greta wear them in the car seat yet. I need to be able to trust that she'll leave them on before we do that. Until, it is one more step getting someplace with that girl.
>Eyelashes look much longer behind magnifying glasses!
>Wow those lenses are thick!!
>And she rolled over by herself for the first time today.

Now a few pictures. I am pleased with the frames and I think they look cute on her--but I'm still getting used to the whole thing. I am very thankful to have caught it this young. With as severe as a case as she has, developing correctly would not have happened. She is going to have the best chance with these pollies. And people have been very nice and said she looks cute. Thank you strangers!
One final note about Tom's truck--the fix-it shop fixed the wrong thing on Wednesday but now have it all repaired. They said they'd give us a good deal. We'll see how good it turns out to be. (Tom's truck has seen better years, but we both enjoy having a truck. Trips to the dump, Home Depot, mountain biking etc. would be hard to give up, but a new truck is more than we want to spend atm. so we continue to nurse it along.)