Tomorrow is Christmas. It's practically here!

Holy cow, where has this month gone? Luckily this week has been nice and calm thus far. Last week was another story. I had a lot going on and both girls were fussier than normal. Ada had one of her worst tantrums ever at book club. I swear, those girls probably think she's a monster! Kate was fussy too and I even took her to the doctor, but they could find nothing wrong. Last night she threw up all over herself in bed, but she's been pretty good today. I'm glad most of the crazy stuff happened last week because it's been nice to enjoy the anticipation of Christmas. I feel like a kid again because I'm so excited.

One thing I did enjoy amidst the madness last week was baking. I made mint brownies, sugar cookies, and Swedish ginger cookies. Delish! I love baking (and eating the results). I've decided that my weak point in baking is presentation. I'm not the best at shaping dough or frosting things, but the taste should hopefully make up for it.

And now, a few funny things said by Ada lately:

*"Does Elmo match red crayons?"
*"Sophie's two just like me. She's awfully cute."
*I was trying to get her to sit down in her carseat so we could leave somewhere, and I told her to sit down before we froze our little bummies off. She replied, "Yours isn't little, yours is big."
*We have a Christmas book and CD with stories and songs. She's been listening to the CD lately as she falls asleep, and yesterday I was reading the book to her. There was a story about the birth of Christ. I was reading the part about the shepherds, and before I could turn the next page she said,"'Don't be frightened,' said the angel. 'I have wonderful news for you, and for all people. Tonight the son of God, who is Christ the Lord, was born in a stable in Bethlehem.'" I turned the page and those EXACT words were right there. How does she remember this stuff?

I can't wait to spend Christmas morning at my own house with my family. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Hell must have frozen over

Two nights ago I did something I told myself I'd never do: I signed up with facebook. I'm not sure why. It has been a difficult week with the kids. I was up late letting Kate cry it out in her crib, and I needed something mindless to do. One thing led to another and...

It's been on my mind lately because every other day Tyler comes home from work with something new (although not important) to say about my sister Angie in Chicago, her husband Hyrum, or our brother-in-law Neal in Kansas City that he read on facebook. I guess I just can't handle him knowing all this stuff that I don't. He likes to tease me about it, and I folded.

I'm not sure if I'm glad I signed up or not. I already waste way too much time on the 'net. I've said all along that I already keep in touch with everyone I care to, but I have already found an old friend that I had lost touch with. I guess at least one good thing has come out of it.

"I got robbed by a sweet old lady on a motorized cart"

Actually, it was two little girls selling Happenings books. They came to our door, we decided we wanted one, and we gave them $20. They said they'd bring it by in three weeks. That took me a little off guard because they had one right there, but they got my info and left. I should have gotten their info, because it's been probably three months now! Lesson: only buy them from people you know.

On a happier note, I'm so excited for Christmas! Last week we saw the lights at Temple Square and went to the Festival of Trees. Good times. Ada loves looking at all the Christmas lights. Christmas is so much better when you have kids! The older she gets, the more fun it is. I can't wait for Christmas morning. It's been fun to try and teach Ada a few new things about Christmas.

Just when I thought I was at my breaking point with Ada, she has slowly started to improve with her tantrums. They are slowly declining in number and severity. She gets really sad more often than mad lately. She's doing well binkie-free, but her naps went MIA along with the binks for about a week. Only when I started playing a Christmas CD with stories and songs has she started napping again. Phew! But she can play in her room for hours by herself, which helps even if she doesn't sleep. She decided on her own to sit on the potty and go pee-pee, but she hasn't made a habit of it yet. We just need to keep working on her. I have mixed feelings about potty training. On one hand, we won't have to pay for diapers or change stinky ones. On the other hand, I don't look forward to taking her to pee in public places and I don't look forward to accidents. It must happen, though, and I'm sure I'll be glad when it does.
I love our piano, but Ada gets mad whenever I play it. She wants to be the only one to do it. She also hates it when we sing. She's crazy! She totally cracks me up though. She loves to dress up every day. The other day she said that she wanted to "kiss Baby Kate's brains" and then kissed her on the head. I swear she has a photographic memory too. Tyler got a 'She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain' book from the library and after only hearing it a few times she can turn through the pages and say every single thing that lady does (she'll be juggling with jelly? She'll drink out of a dustbin? How does she remember these things?).
We have a new niece! Grace Korrin Dickson was born last Friday. That makes #10 for us (three on my side, seven on Tyler's, with one nephew on his side). Her big sister Ella is so excited. We've only seen her once, but she's a cutie. Kate now seems enormous.

My little trooper

Kate finally went in for her VCUG on Tuesday. I cried the night before. I was so worried because last time she had a catheter it was a most unpleasant experience, but this time she didn't even flinch. The girl who gave it to her was a lot more experienced than the nurses who gave her the first one I guess. She only started to get fussy when her bladder was uncomfortably full. The whole process was much more mild than I expected. But it turns out that she does have reflux, so she has to stay on antibiotics for at least another year, and then they'll do the test again to see if the reflux has gone away. Boo.Since Tyler's mom was watching Ada, we decided to take advantage of our time together. We ate dinner at The Mandarin and then did Christmas shopping for the girls. I'm so excited about what we got Ada. I told Tyler that I didn't know if I'd be able to wait until Christmas to tell her about it. I know she's gonna love it.Kate is five months old already. She is so active lately. She can sit up on her own (still a little wobbly) and she grabs at EVERYTHING. She's so interested in what's going on around her, which makes it a chore to feed her these days. We did give her some baby cereal a few times this week just for fun. She made lots of funny faces but took to it pretty well. She is still as happy and sweet as ever. Even though she hasn't been sleeping well at all lately (waking up at least three times a night), I could never get mad at such a sweetie. Her smile melts my heart. But good news: last night she FINALLY slept through the night since she's been in her crib! What a relief. I've really been feeling the lack of sleep lately. I hope she can keep up the good work. I'm excited for her first Christmas and can't wait to see her play with her new toys.

Oh Ada

I have so much I want to say about Ada that this may turn into a novel.

1. A few months ago my grandma gave Ada a stuffed Goofy toy. She was excited because one of her favorite TV shows is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The excitement soon became an obsession. She can't go anywhere without that thing. She talks to him all day long, and I have to talk back in a Goofy voice, and she tells me what she wants him to say. "Mommy, can Goofy talk, and he will say..." All. Day. Long. Even on the rare occasion that she doesn't have him she still talks to him. "Am I playing with a ball, Goofy?" I'm sure people who don't know her think she's crazy.

2. She as of late begins every sentence with the word 'So'.

3. The first two lead up to this one: we picked Tyler up from work on Wednesday morning and met the McIntyres at the zoo for Free Zoo Day. On the way there, Ada asked, "So, does Baby Kate eat your milk, Mommy?" "Yup." Then she said, "So, I'm Goofy's mommy." The next thing we knew, she was holding Goofy's face against her chest and saying, "I'm feeding Goofy!" We couldn't stop laughing.

4. We finally decided to wean Ada from her binkie. All along we said we'd do it once she turned two, but we stalled because right around that time we moved and had a new baby. Lately she's been more attached to it than ever, so I thought it would be a disaster. So far it hasn't been too bad. She's napping right now without it and she went to bed last night sans her bink. She has asked for it and gotten a little bit upset, but nothing too terrible. Nothing like the fit she threw in the tub today because I had the nerve to actually clean her while she was taking a bath.

5. Even though she still hates sharing, she is learning to be polite. She tells Tyler and me 'thank you' all the time. She'll say it after the simplest little things. I'm so happy that my teaching is paying off. We're still working on getting her saying 'please' without being asked.

6. I bought cute sweater dresses for the girls and we took them to Kiddie Kandids Saturday night to get their pictures in them (we had a $20 credit that expired at the end of the year). Ada would NOT cooperate, but we got some adorable pictures of Kate. Ada can't handle posing unless she's alone.

7. She has such an imagination! She loves to dress up and is very good at pretending. She's fun to play with, but she can be VERY bossy. She plays very well by herself too.