A blessed occasion

Kate was blessed on Sunday, September 21. Almost everyone from our families attended. It was a really good blessing. Everyone came to our house afterward for food (a taco bar and dessert). It was a really good day!

Just for the h of it

Elephants on parade

Crackin' the Top Ten

For the first time since 2001, the Cougars have made it into the top ten. They're #7 in one poll and #8 in the other. I was pretty shocked, especially since they didn't even play, but I'm not complaining! Unfortunately they have to play Utah State this week, so that will make for some pretty boring ball and won't help their schedule strength. I can't wait for some tough conference play the rest of the way! Even if they ended up being the only undefeated team in the nation, I doubt they'd be given the chance to play for a national championship, but a BCS bowl would be awesome. That being said, I'm rooting for Missouri to win it all.

"A bit of a meltdown"

Yesterday was Ada's first time being naughty in the nursery. It came as a shock because although she's naughty at home every day, she's usually a saint in nursery and loves going. I was sitting in Relief Society with Kate and the nursery leader came to get me. Someone offered to hold Kate and I went out to the hall. I was sure Ada had pooped or something, but was surprised when the nursery leader said, "She's having a bit of a meltdown and took off her shoes and her skirt." Oh dear! I went to get her and her shirt was halfway off too. I took her into an empty room and after a while got her calmed down and dressed. She didn't want to go back to nursery and didn't want to go sit with Tyler, so I brought her to Relief Society with me. She was a good girl. I couldn't help but laugh about the whole situation. My family still jokes with me about a saying that originated when I was a toddler: "When Al gets mad, she gets naked!" I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

It's gonna be a glorious day

It's a great day. Today for the first time since I got pregnant, I totally fit into one of my normal pairs of pants! They actually fit me better now than they did before (I now fill them out more). I've been so sick of wearing all my maternity pants and fat pants. Hopefully it won't be too long before I can fit into the rest of them. Ah, just in time for Fall! Other things worth noting:

*Morgan came over today and we went to see the Elephant Parade at the Gateway. Tyler met us there. It was very short, but cool. My kind of parade! It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be, although we did have to park in the dungeon where it reeked of raw sewage. Pictures pending.
*I'm participating in my second straight year of Fantasy Football. I'm off to a great start at 3-0. You can't expect any less from a team called the Butt Whoopers. Last year I was in the final match-up but couldn't pull off the victory. Hopefully this year I can win it all.
*The Cougs have a bye this week. It's just as well, since their last two games have only been interesting for the first halves. Next week will prove much the same as they travel to Logan to play Utah State. Poor Aggies.
*Emily and Sally are in town and I've had fun hanging out with them. Yesterday we went to a Layers open house. I have a clothing obsession as of late, but can't afford to purchase anything. Luckily my mom was there and bought me some cute shirts for Christmas. Can't wait for December!

Shortcuts

When you don't have time to bathe your children...

A plethora of pinatas...er, pictures

Silly sleepyhead

Swimmin' at Echo

Nakey

Terror Ride!

Lovers

She looks fetching in the arms of her aunt

Pretty princess

Mom's shoes

Adorable

At the hospital

Sisters?

My husband is a psychic

During the Olympics, Tyler predicted that Usain Bolt would win the 100m dash with a world record time of 9.69 seconds. Turns out he was right on. Then yesterday during the BYU game, when they were up 21-0, Tyler made the comment that it would be funny if they beat UCLA 60-0. Not exactly right, but pretty darn close. BYU annihilated the Bruins by a score of 59-0. It was so nice to actually watch a BYU game without feeling nervous. Their offense was practically unstoppable and their defense was awesome too. I was shocked, as I know everyone else was. My one complaint is that Max Hall threw an interception at the beginning of the second half. Without that, it would have been a pretty perfect game. Hopefully they can keep up the good work. Fresno State lost last night, so now all we need is for ECU and Utah to go down...

Of note

Ada is screaming in Time Out right now, so I thought I'd blog about her.

-On Thursday she peed twice in her Elmo potty! She wanted to go potty with Mommy, and this time she wanted to strip down. She usually sits for a grand total of one second and then gets up, but I made her stay. I gave her water, and soon she went. I was surprised! But I made a big deal of it and gave her candy, and she did it for Daddy when he got home. Then the whole episode with Kate happened, so our efforts were put on hold for a few days. I tried again on Monday. She sat for a long time and drank lots of water, but nothing came out. Finally she stood up with a weird look on her face and looked into the potty. She had pooped! I was shocked again! Want to know what she had to say about the whole thing? "Does it look like an 'r'?" Yes, it did indeed look like a little letter r. Nothing has happened since then and we still have lots of work to do, but she's off to a good start!
-Some of her favorite things to say lately: "Mommy, put Baby Kate down!", "Mommy, what are you doing?", "I wanna be soft to Baby Kate.", "I didn't go poop, Mommy.", and when asked her name, "A-D-A."
-Her new favorite thing is to look at words and read the letters. She knows all her uppercase letters and lots of lowercase ones. She's a little smartypants.

The Brave Little Katester

Oh, it's good to be home. If you haven't read Tyler's blog, Kate's been in the hospital. What started out as our first "adventure" to the ER Thursday night due to a fever became a near-36-hour stay at Primary Children's Medical Center. We were originally told that we'd be in until at least Sunday morning, so it was good to be released early. It was confirmed yesterday afternoon that Kate has a UTI. They did an ultrasound on her kidneys to make sure they were okay, which it seems they are. We're home from the hospital, but she's not through being checked out. Her 2-month check-up is next week and they'll probably test her urine again. Then in 4 weeks she has to have a VCUG to make sure there are no reflux problems with her urine. No fun.

The worst part for me was the ER, but it broke my heart to see her hooked up to so many wires in the hospital too. The ER sucked because she had to have a catheter, IV, and lumbar puncture all inserted within minutes of each other. I cried when they gave her the catheter and had to leave the room during the lumbar puncture. At least most of the results came back pretty quickly and we knew what the problem was early on. I'm so grateful it was "just" a UTI. Seriously, you hear about kids staying at Primary Children's and it seems like such a big deal. Don't get me wrong; this was definitely a big deal because of how young she is, but I'm so glad it wasn't anything worse.

Tyler and I used to have a church calling where we visited LDS families staying at PCMC once a week. We would inform them about church on Sunday, offer any help, and occasionally Tyler helped give blessings. So that place has a special place in my heart. I never thought I'd have to be there with a sick kid (let alone a baby), but it really is as special as everyone says it is. The nurses are awesome and they're so accommodating to the parents. Kate had a nurse (Brandy) all day Friday who was my favorite. I could tell she loved Kate so much, and she just kept telling me how cute Kate is and how she was her favorite. I was happy to see her back today, and I know she was happy to see Kate again. Even though I hate hospitals (especially the smell), this was a good place to be. They're amazing.

Seriously, Kate is the best little baby ever. Everyone kept commenting on how she didn't look sick. She didn't act sick either. She is such a trooper. All the nurses immediately fell in love with her because she would just smile when they came to check on her. It seems like you could always hear a baby crying in one of the neighboring rooms, but Kate really only cried when she was being poked or messed with. She is really tough for such a little sweet heart. When we were at lunch yesterday, she pulled the IV out of her hand. Unfortunately, they had to reinsert it at midnight so she could get more antibiotics. That was not a pleasant experience. But since she did so well and seemed healthy, they decided she could just come home and be on oral antibiotics instead of staying another day and getting more through an IV.

We were supposed to bless Kate at church tomorrow, but that has obviously been postponed. I'm just so glad that she's home and not hooked up to any monitors anymore. I sort of lost it when we got home. Everything just hit me at once and I just sat and hugged my little Kate. She really couldn't have been more perfect. We are seriously so blessed (ha ha!).

Well, it's late and I'm ready to catch up on some sleep. What little sleep I got at the hospital was on a "cot" that folded out from a chair. My king bed has never been so inviting.

Does this look like a sick little girl?

Ada's Profile

Full Name: Ada Elizabeth Squire

Age: 2

Astrological Sign: Leo

Best Features: big blue eyes, curly hair, adorable chunky thighs (but the rolls are shrinking!)

Interests: singing, playing toys, watching shows, Elmo, touching or stepping on Baby Kate's head

Favorite Foods: chicken nuggets, cereal, noodles (the cheap unhealthy kind), treats. I don't eat much else

Pet Peeves: getting dressed, eating dinner, wearing diapers, going to sleep

I'm cute, smart, and lots of fun! Don't make me mad, though; I have an uncontrollable urge to kick, scream, and throw things.

Here I go again

Thanks to Kim for humoring me last week on my Monday Memory post. I guess a lot of that stuff was "had to be there". I was debating whether or not to do it again (plus it's now Tuesday), but decided to post about something I meant to a few weeks ago.

A few Saturdays ago, Tyler's mom planned a GNO where we ate dinner at Macaroni Grill, went to the movie 'Mamma Mia', and slept at a hotel. I did everything but sleep over with them. Tyler watched the girls at my parents' house so I could feed the baby between events. It was tons of fun to get away and laugh my head off. I loved the movie, and Cheryce and I even got up and danced at the end! I've seen the musical twice and it's better than the film, but they still did a great job. I loved the actors and the scenery. It was super cheesy and super funny.

Watching that movie made me think about the times I saw the play. My younger sisters and I flew out to San Francisco to spend time with our older sister Angie. It was such a fun trip. One of my favorites. 'Mamma Mia' was playing there and Angie heard it was good, so we decided to go. We had the best time! I remember running up to the theater in our skirts while a homeless man yelled, "You girls are beautiful!" I remember laughing throughout the play, and then being the first ones to stand up and dance at the end. That whole trip was the best.

The second time I saw it was here in Salt Lake City. Angie bought tickets for my whole family. It was right before I got married, and I remember crying throughout the play this time, especially during the songs 'Slipping Through My Fingers' and 'Our Last Summer'. It was still great, even though it was a lot shadier than the one in San Fran! I just love hanging with my sisters, and I'm sad that they're all gone.

Gratefully, Angie and Hyrum came to visit this weekend. They wanted to meet little Kate. It was so great to see them. I wish they lived closer. Chicago is just too far away! We had fun being with them, and they even slept over at our house Sunday night. We had fun eating frozen custard and hanging out. Angie and I tried to get pedicures yesterday but the wait was too long, so we went shopping instead! Good times were had by all.