Christmas 2010

This year Christmas was kind of a different experience. It was great, just different. Having two toddlers running around was a learning experience to say the least.

I went down to my parents' house on Thursday afternoon and got to spend some time with my little sister Kathryn. My parents went out for an overnight date so it was just us and Kaylee for the evening and night. We ended up doing some last minute shopping and picking up things from her college apartment. She has so many big adventures planned for the next few months! I am sure she will have an amazing time with all of them.

Robert came down in the morning on Friday and my sister, brother-in-law, and niece came in to that afternoon. It was great to see them and see how much little Evelyn had grown since I saw her last. She is such a beautiful little girl. Her personality is much different than Kaylee's. She is more of a girl than Kaylee in many ways. She is still pretty shy, but warmed up over the weekend.

It was great to watch the little girls play, but Kaylee was starting to have some problems. She was beyond cranky. Her attitude only worsened through the evening. We all read the Christmas story, told about our favorite Christmas' and listened to some music. I was so very excited for Kaylee's first Christmas as a toddler. Robert, Kaylee, and I opened our Christmas eve presents (PJs for Kaylee and T-shirts for us). Robert and I stayed up later putting together one of Kaylee's presents and talking about the future.

Kaylee woke up during the night a few times and seemed to be hurting quite a bit. It took Robert and me several attempts to get her to sleep but she finally did. The next morning we were all waiting for her to wake up so we could all go upstairs to the presents. Finally she woke up and the craziness started.

Can I just say TOO MANY PRESENTS, NOT ENOUGH BREAKFAST!!!

Kaylee and Evelyn had at least double the presents everyone else had. It got a little ridiculous and made it a little chaotic. The little girls got pretty cranky by the end of it (especially Kaylee who hadn't had breakfast yet). Next year there will definitely be either less presents or multiple presents combined in one package.....probably the first one. It just took too long to get to all the little girl's presents so it felt a little rushed and I felt bad that some people just got overlooked while they were unwrapping their presents. Oh well, next year we will know better!

Kaylee got so many presents I can't even name them all. So far, she doesn't seem to have a favorite present, but she loves all her new toys. She cheered up some after breakfast and some Tylenol. We decided she must be starting to get her canine teeth.

Kaylee got pretty possessive of her toys and her personal space after opening presents. Typical toddler things, pushing, hitting, and screaming. Poor Evelyn is such a soft personality that she didn't try to fight back....just cried. I tried to intervene whenever something happened, but ended up feeling really crummy about my daughter being the "bully". Looking back on it, I don't think I should have felt bad at all. She wasn't doing it on purpose, and she isn't a jerk, just a baby. I know my daughter doesn't understand the right way to interact with other children, and she is used to roughly defending her space from the dogs. I know she isn't a monster, just a toddler, and I am sure she will learn what is and isn't appropriate soon enough.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, talking, eating candy, and inspecting our new "toys".

Saturday night Kaylee slept even less than the night before even with pain medicine. Poor girl was really hurting. We opted to let her sleep in so that she could go to the first hour of church and have a late nap at my Grandma's house. We all went down to have dinner at Grandma's Inn, and it was wonderful! My mom and dad gave us the last of our gifts when they agreed to buy us each a set of china from my Grandma's Inn. The one I picked is super girly, and Robert isn't too fond of it, but hey, I think it is pretty! I can't wait to get the china set so I can post a picture of it.

Robert left from my grandma's house to go home to SLC to pick his parents up from the airport (they were in Germany) and then I went back to my parents' house. Thankfully Kaylee picked that night to sleep almost all the way through the night, and then woke early in a little bit better mood. We had a good morning of talking, playing with the girls in the snow.....really they just walked around or stood there.

I suggested we get the horses out to let the girls pet them. Lol, I didn't even think about the fact that these are Arabians who have been stuck in a paddock for a couple months without being ridden. First my mom got out her horse Annie, and Kaylee got to pet her once or twice before Annie decided she wanted to try to leap over all of us and the fence to get back in with her buddy. Lol it was pretty scary, but Kaylee and I climbed the fence out of the way really quick. Next was my Dad's horse Diego. He was much calmer and let the girls pet him, give him loves (hugs) and sit on his back. Evie didn't much care for that, but Kaylee really loved it! I was happy to see that she wasn't nervous about the horses this time, but she still doesn't like their heads. So I suggested my mom lead him around a bit with Kaylee on his back and she loved that. I had my hand gripping the back of her coat the whole time because, well lets face it, horses are unpredictable. Diego didn't much care for my body draped over his side holding on to my daughter, and I could see him getting nervous so I was prepared for what happened. My parents had a snowman in their yard, but the dogs knocked it over so it was just a few lumps of snow. Apparently, it was horse eating snow that jumped up and tried to get Diego because when he finally noticed it he about jumped out of his skin. He jumped right out from under Kaylee so I yanked her out of the air (remember my hand was already gripping her coat) and she thought it was hilarious! I was amazed that I didn't even get nervous enough to trigger any adrenaline. I could see in Diego's body language that he was thinking about doing exactly what he did to so I was expecting it. No, it hasn't made me never want to put her on a horse again, and she will probably even get to sit on him again.

After the rodeo, Kaylee was so cute and went to sit on the porch swing with Jenetta and Evie. They were both sitting quietly holding my sister's hand. I think my mom might have gotten a picture, but maybe not.

Monday evening we headed up to see the lights on Temple Square and to go to dinner with the family. We went to a little Italian pizza place, and it was pretty good. The best part was the olives on my pizza. and the amazing almond ice cream afterwards. The lights on Temple square were a little disappointing this year. They were still very beautiful, but just not as impressive as I remember from past years.

Sadly, Dad had to leave that evening for Washington for work so that kind of ended the family weekend. Robert and Kaylee went home, Kathryn and I went to see the movie Tangled (VERY good), and Mom, Jenetta, James, and Evie headed back down to my parents' house.

All in all it was a very wonderful weekend, and I can't wait to have everyone together again.

Note - The reason there are NO pictures in this post is that I was completely stupid and didn't take any pictures with my camera.....you think I would learn! Hopefully I will get some from other people in the family who were taking pictures.

Until Further Notice..................

I am going to be taking a break from blogging for a while. It might be permanent, and I might come back to it. For the family who reads this blog, I will be sending an email with pictures every couple weeks.

Just so that no one is concerned. My family and I are ok, this is a personal break, and it hopefully wont be permanent.

Until Further Notice..................

I am taking a break from blogging until further notice. The swap is also canceled, sorry for any inconvenience.

Just so that no one is concerned. My family and I are ok, this is a personal break, and it hopefully wont be permanent.

It Kicked Our Hineys

Hobbs and I were pretty much pathetic at class last night. I didn't think I was that out of shape from the rib issue and the month of no agility (and basically no walks). Hobbs had gotten out to the dog park to play and most of that was him blasting around like a crazy dog, and since we have been home he has been on the treadmill for at least 20 minutes all but 3 days, so I figured he was getting his exercise. Apparently not.

It was a nice big barn that is where they have clinics and ASCA trials usually. It wasn't heated so it was pretty cold, but I knew that and was bundled up. The first sequence was one from a clinic that had been during that day and then again today, and it was pretty tricky.

We first all handled it by keeping them on our right over 3 and 4 then then handling the threadle that way. All but one of us had to try multiple times to get in the right position for #5. The dogs would either run past it and take 6 or the would jump 5 the wrong way. Then a lot of the dogs took the tunnel instead of 7. And the handling of 7-9 to get to a FC after 9 was tricky.

The second time around we did this thing where we put a front cross between 3 and 4 and between 4 and 5.......it didn't work well for any of us. I could see how if you were used to handling it that way it would be easier, but it was just awkward for everyone. This sequence reminded me that we haven't done serps or threadles for a VERY long time. I need to work on them more.

The next sequence was more doable for Hobbs and I.

We had to leave right afterwards, so I only got to do it once, but we did really well. Our run would have been perfect except that half way through the tunnel (after an amazing send from 5) he stopped and turned around to come out and smell the sand bags on the tunnel! We started over at 2 and ran the rest clean and clear. I thought our 180 from 7 to 8 was really smooth, but we ended with a really rough ugly rear cross. The stupid #2 jump was right where I would have usually crossed so I had to get really close to 10 before I crossed.

Hobbs was very much done, and could have done without this last run (see, pathetic) and I was getting a cramp in my calf (again, pathetic) but we did very well on it anyways! I still feel like I have to really baby his pinwheel turns, and I don't know if that is because of him or me.

I have a super plan for how we will go about getting in shape mentally and physically for the trial at the end of January.

Physically: Hobbs and I will be on the treadmill every other day. On the off days we are going for a long walk together with Patriot. Because I feel like I need more work to get in shape, I will be taking just Patriot on a shorter/gentler walk the days we treadmill. I will also do some strength training, and rib supporting exercises to avoid another episode of that whole mess. Hobbs will probably join us on the short walk after a couple weeks of every other day.

Mentally: I am lucky enough that our new instructor also rents out her barn for people to practice in so we will probably go there once a week. Then, back where we used to have class (about an hour away) also is rent-able now that I am competing so I will probably go up every other week. When I go up there, I may have a private lesson, but that depends on if my instructor is going to teach since she just had a baby. And to top it all off, WAY up north, a big equestrian arena has been rented for open agility practice 2-3 times a month and it is only $5 per person for as long as you want to practice. So on some weeks, that could be as much as 4 days we practice agility! That is pretty good for winter around here.

Tricky T-day - Bang!

Yes, I taught my boy to play dead when he gets shot at. He is really cute about it sometimes and doesn't a kind of grumbling groan as he goes down. It isn't perfect in the video, but he tried hard.

This is my first attempt at putting two videos together, so hopefully it isn't too horrific.

Together again!

Patriot is HOME!! Turtle is HOME!!

It is so nice to have all my animals back together again. It has been interesting having 3 animals again. Kaylee was pretty intimidated by Patriot at first, but will push him right back (or try to bit him) if he bumps into her. They have all settled into their routines, but that hasn't included any walking because it has either been snowing or below freezing outside, and I don't want to take Kaylee out in either of those.

I am hoping that things will warm up a little and that the sidewalks will thaw so we can get out! I have been putting Hobbs on the treadmill just to keep him working so we don't lose ground on his fitness. Patriot really doesn't like to even walk on the treadmill so I make sure to play with them outside so he gets to burn off some steam. Good thing he is an old dog and doesn't need much to satisfy him for the day.

Kaylee LOVES having her cat back, and tries to cuddle with her all the time. Turtle isn't sure about being laid on and squished, but she is being patient.

The boys playing in the snow. If you compare the depth of the snow in the top 3 pictures to the snow in the bottom 4, just know that that much snow fell in about 8 hours.

Flying puppy!

The older Patriot gets the less he likes the snow

That isn't blood in the snow, it is a bottle of some pinkish soda that froze and burst. It was staying cold in the snow during a party and got forgotten overnight.

trying to get a grip on the Kong Wobbler

Not sure what Patriot was chewing on.....

The morning after the snow stopped

This snow is DEEP

the two of them racing back to the house

In other news, Hobbs and I get to do agility on THURSDAY!!! I was going to wait until the first of the year, but we are entered into a trial the last weekend of January and I don't think one month of classes would be enough to get us ready. If it were summer and I could just practice any time I wanted in the back yard it would be different. So we are starting class on Thursday and will be renting time at the barn a couple of times. I am going to have to take Kaylee with me to practice at the barn, so it may be interesting.

Thanksgiving and Black Friday Spoils!

Robert and I spent Thanksgiving with his family this year, and it was great! We had just gotten home from Oregon the weekend before, and Robert had just driven back the day before. We hadn't seen them in months, and Kaylee was a bit shy, but we still had all the fun and food that Thanksgiving promises.

Soon after the Thanksgiving feast had ended at Robert's parents' house the black Friday adds made their appearance. I have never been one for the whole "going at 3am to sit in line until 6 to save a few dollars" thing. But this year, Robert had gotten a big bonus check from his employer and we wanted to use it for things we have wanted since we got married. So, black Friday seemed the best time to get the things we "needed" at the lowest price we could.

I have never personally been shopping on black Friday, and always wondered why Robert insisted it was so much fun. Lack of sleep + long lines + crazy people = not a whole lot of "fun" in my mind.

Everyone decided that we would head to Walmart for our earliest shopping. In fact, we had gotten information that we should get to the store to stand/sleep in line as early as 10pm Thanksgiving night. Yeah, that made me REALLY want to go. Wow, I sound like a party pooper don't I?

After Kaylee went to bed we were all getting ready to leave and I had agreed to go just for the experience. At the last minute Robert and I decided to go on a date before going to Walmart. We got to the theater about 5 minutes after they stopped selling tickets, and were not able to do that part of our date. So we went for a late night breakfast instead.

We hadn't been on a date since going to Oregon and it was wonderful to be able to just sit and talk and laugh together. Definitely something we need to make a priority again. If only our babysitters didn't live an 1-1.5 hours away. Anyways, back to black Friday!

After dinner, I was barely able to keep my eyes open and the idea of going to sit at Walmart until morning and then being a mom for the whole day was not on my list of things to do. We decided to leave me at home, Kaylee at the grandparents house, and Robert went on his own to meet his brother and dad at Walmart. When I woke up refreshed and ready to tackle the day I was so very glad I didn't stay up all night. Maybe next year.

Robert's shopping trip was a success and we got more than we had planned to get. I think that is just the way Black Friday works.

Our biggest purchase, and the thing we have wanted since we got married:

Isn't it beautiful?!? It is a "Emerson 32" LCD 720p 60Hz HDTV" - Not quite sure what all of that means, but it is BEAUTIFUL! This is the one Robert went to stand in line for. It turned out that by 5 am when the sale started only 40 people had lined up and there were over 100 TVs available.

Just below it in the picture you can see one of the purchases we were not planning on. It is a BlueRay player. Yeah, we have all of 3 HD movies on Robert's computer so we bought a few blue rays to watch. They are quite the experience. Lord of the Rings was AMAZING!

We also finally got a nice set of tuperware containers for leftover food! We had a decent set when we first got married, but it slowly got lost and we never replaced it with another complete set. So we got these:

Minus the food......obviously. They have already come in handy putting thanksgiving food away.

Other things we got were minor like a portable hard drive to put all our pictures on so they can be put in a safe place in case of a fire or other computer disaster. I am still glad I didn't go, because I needed my sleep for the day part of Friday. I heard some good stories though that made me wish I had gone with Robert! Like a lady freaking out and having to be carried out of the store......can we say crazy??

The Ornament!

This ornament swap was really and I couldn't wait to get my new ornament from Mamarazzi at Dandelion Wishes!

Despite MOVING during the whole swap, I managed to send my gift to her. Then today I got around to checking my mail for the first time since we moved in, and my new ornament was there! It is so beautiful, and I can't wait to see it on our tree...........if we get one this year, but that's a different story.

Isn't it pretty?!

I can't wait for my next blog swap! Hopefully I get to do one again soon, they are so fun!

Random Pictures of November

I know that November is not over yet, so I will probably have to update this later, but I needed something to post.

We have a little mommy in the making!

She has learned how to share her sippies and snacks with her baby doll.

....think we stick our fingers in HER mouth too much?

The other day Kaylee wanted me to put bows into her hair. She kept asking for more so I finally just put all of them in at once. The result was pretty funny!

It only lasted for a few minutes because she got sick of them all over her head.

Uh, I think I get the bad mom award for this month. I just emptied our camera's and these were the ONLY pictures I took in November! How sad is that? I WILL do better next month, and not just because of Christmas.

"Can't we just throw it all in the truck this time?"

This is what I asked Robert at the beginning of last week. He said no............

For the beginning of this week, I am UN-packing everything back into the house in West Jordan. I am SO sick of packing and un-packing I could scream. I swear, when we buy a house I am going to splurge for the movers.....the ones that pack it all for you too.

The drive home was incredibly long and mentally difficult. Saturday wasn't bad until the evening when it started to snow, but luckily we were close to our hotel (yep I can't drive 15 hours in one go). The next morning there was almost a foot of snow where the night before there had been dry pavement. Not a good sign with a 7+ hour drive ahead of me. The drive Sunday was one of the worst I have ever been on. It took us almost 9 hours to make a 7 hour drive. The reason? There was enough snow on the freeway for 8 hours of it that I had my car in 4 wheel drive the entire way. Not until Ogden was I able to stop and take it out of 4wd.

We came about a prayer away from doing a nasty spin onto the side of the road about an hour from Ogden. We came down a hill on what was starting to be a clear road, but was apparently ice. I first noticed there was a car off the side to my left, then another on my right. Just as I realized there were 3-5 more cars off the side of the road, none overturned just stuck, I felt my wheels slipping. I let off the gas, didn't touch my breaks, and let up on the death grip I had on the car so the wheel could slide more easily in my hands. The last thing I wanted to do was jerk the wheel and kill us all. The car started to fishtail every so slightly (when all this started we were going about 50mph) and I thought we were going to join the party on the side of the road. Then I had the thought that the left lane had obvious snow on it and that I would have traction on that snow. I didn't even turn the wheel, just let the car drift by itself on to the snowier side of the road. We stopped fishtailing, and were able to drive through the scariest stretch of road I have ever seen. All the cars were going about 25 for almost half an hour, one of the many reasons it took us so long to get home.

Kaylee and I are safe here in West Jordan while Robert is staying for another two weeks in Oregon. Thankfully he is flying home for Thanksgiving and then back again the Sunday after. Then hopefully we will all be here together.

Robert's brother Jonathan is living in the basement of the house right now. There is an unfinished basement apartment (mother-in-law apartment) that he is supposed to be moved in to. We are hoping it is done in the next couple weeks because the idea of sharing my home with a single person in NOT on my bucket list. Robert and Kaylee are enough for me to worry about. Yeah, I am a bit frustrated by the whole situation, and am wondering if it is worth the money we are saving. It probably is since we will be out of debt and saving for a house by the middle of next year if not sooner. Is sooner even a word?

Ask me again if it is still worth it if this is still the situation by Christmas......I can already tell you my answer!

On a happier front, I got some NEW DIAPERS!! I know, I know, I was supposed to stop because we have a ton of them. But the place where I usually buy all my diapers had a deal where they doubled your points (you get a point for every dollar you spend) so I ordered 8 diapers with them and paid only the $10 in shipping! They are all a kind of diaper I haven't used before and I am excited to try them. Oh wait, that is a lie. I have used one of them before, but this one is a bigger size because Kaylee is outgrowing the one we have.

Ha! I just realized little Kaylee is 16 months old today. How is it possible when I haven't even gotten used to her being 15 months old yet? Happy 16 month-day little girl. I love you.

Hobbs is very happy to be home, Turtle is coming home at least by Thanksgiving, and Patriot will be here Wednesday night! I am excited to have all my animals back in my care, and especially have missed Patriot. I stupidly listened to Marley and Me on the drive home, and had to shut it off because my teary eyes were interfering with what was already a difficult situation. Have you read that book? If you own an older dog DON'T!! It will make you never want to leave their side, or tell them they are a bad dog.

My brain is in super cleaning mode today. I couldn't go to sleep last night because I wanted to clean the house. So today I have showered and gotten ready for the day, got Kaylee dressed, fed, unpacked all her toys, fed the dog, bathed said dog, done 3 loads of laundry, vacuumed/swept the floors and stairs, disinfected the laundry machines, and eaten breakfast.....and it is only noon. Hopefully I don't loose steam while Kaylee is napping. Bring on a clean house!! Next up, the KITCHEN..................ugh

I am neglecting my child.....

Please don't call CPS!

I have been severely neglecting my updates about Kaylee on this blog! This is why I started one, to update family on our happenings while we are far away from them. And then I go and STOP posting as soon as we move! I must be better. Here is a short update since Kaylee turned 15 months old 3 weeks ago!

She is walking like crazy, and has learned to run in place, sprint, run in a somewhat straight line, walk up and down stairs holding onto a railing. Her favorite thing right now is running/walking in little circles when she gets really excited. It is adorable. It is often what she does when she hears music she likes and wants to dance to.

She is signing very well now, and knows a good number of signs including:

Daddy

Cat

Dog

Mommy (usually needs a reminder that it isn't the same as daddy)

More

Please

Thank you

All Done/Enough

Peas

Drink

Food/Eat

Play

Movie

Swing

Table

Corn (has only done it once)

Bed

Bath

Potty

Bottle/Milk

Book/Story

Baby

Chair (gets mixed up with swing A LOT)

Horse

Tree

Cracker

Berry

Corn

I think that is all of them. She also knows the motions to itsy bitsy spider and patty cake.

Her stats on Wednesday at the doctor were:

Roughly, 31 1/4 " tall

23lbs 6oz

And, she is learning to share....

I love this little girl!

Tricky T-day - Roll and 8

I am going to try to get one of these up every week, but it may not happen. Hobbs and I are taking a break from Agility until my rib is completely healed (so close!), and I wanted to teach Hobbs some tricks.

This week we are doing two tricks so that I am forced to teach him a new one this next week. Our first one is pretty easy. "Roll" is a pretty basic one, but it has taken quite a while for Hobbs to be comfortable with losing his balance and rolling. He finally got the idea, and can roll one way pretty consistently. We are still working on the other direction, but he is getting it slowly.

One trick I want to teach him eventually is the backwards weaving through my legs. So, our next trick was the figure 8 through my legs. I was amazed how quickly he caught on to this one. It isn't on a verbal command yet, but that will come soon I think.

Swap!

I have never participated in a blog swap, but this one sounded simple enough that I decided to go for it. It is a Christmas Ornament swap! Evelyn over at Hanging by a Silver Lining is organizing this one and it should be great. I am excited about seeing who I am matched up with, and hopefully will make a new blogging friend from it.

So head over and add your name to the list of blogger swapping ornaments. The more the Merrier!

Chances

Here is our Chances run from the NADAC trial.

It was great! I thought the bar he dropped before the tunnel was my fault, but it looks like he landed funny from the jump before it and didn't take off right. He was one of the only dogs in our height (or Novice altogether) to get the discrimination on the first try. It was a tough one, but he handled it really well.

My favorite part of this run especially is that he is bounding along like a little puppy. It is really cute even thought it isn't the most efficient way for him to run a course. I am scared for the day he gets down to really running because, as fast as he is now, I wouldn't be able to keep up with him! I also forgot to mention in either of my posts about this trial that we were getting compliments on our runs from complete strangers! I guess I should remember that when I start nit-picking our runs. We are a very green team, and I need to remember that more.

Thanks for all the comments on my other videos. I think I let being perfect get to my head, and made the trial less fun than it should have been. Our class that we were taking here is pretty serious about being perfect all the time and I think it rubbed off on me a little.

NADAC Videos

***Edit*** Lol, sorry the video's are so big! I don't have a clue how to change them, so if it bugs you just double click on them to watch on youtube.

I am deciding more and more, that I turn into a crazy different person at trials. I really want to video some courses during a training class and see if there is really that much of a difference. For example:

Friday - Touch 'n Go

This is the only run where he is really running like he does in class. Right up to where he misses the DW three times and then almost falls off, and then doesn't stop on the contact. Surprisingly, this was our first run of the day which is usually a complete disaster. I also don't know what the noise is that I make as he is coming across the DW.....didn't realize I made that noise. Other than that, it was a great run.

Friday - Tunnelers

Ok, I guess he is running in this one as well....but it is a class full of puppy-rockets. I am making that same stupid noise in this one too! This shows me very well that I am waiting for him too much, and waiting WAY too long to get his attention out of a tunnel. At tunnel #3 I didn't even realize that he back crossed me to get in the tunnel.....don't really know what to think of that. I am proud of how I handled the middle section of tunnels though.

We slept in the car overnight so I wouldn't have to pay for a hotel, or drive home just to drive back. It was a bad decision because I don't think either of us got much sleep. Also, my rib was really hurting all during this day of the trial. I don't think we got a good warm up for any of our classes either this day.

I didn't order the Chances video, but I think I am going to, just to see how he looks in that first run.

Saturday - Regular 1

This one wasn't too bad. Grrr he jumped the contact. My pull towards the jumps, after the A-frame was late. Another turn away from me after the tunnel under the A-frame, but I think he thought the course was over....interesting. I need to practice the weave poles again stop babying him in them. I so should have been able to just run and do a front cross after them.

Saturday - Regular 2

Not a bad run at all. He was sniffing as he approached the contact on the DW, stress? I think he is not comfortable entering the poles if I am in front of him (or so I think) so I wait for him so I can do a rear cross. That needs to stop. I am very proud of his push out to the tunnel after the tunnel under the A-frame. But, he almost jumped that darn contact again! I know I wasn't running as fast in this one because my rib was KILLING me so I was just trying to do the course faster than a walk.

Saturday - Jumpers

Hmmm, a little bit of difference in our speed, no? It was our last run of the day so he was really tired, and just done with agility. I think I was handling conservatively too because I wanted the bars to stay up. I have NO clue what the little turn away from me was on the 5th jump.....

Please give me feedback on my runs! If you see anything glaringly obvious that I could work on, I want to know....nicely please.

I may post the Chances run if I decide to order it.

Just When I Thought I Needed an ASL Dictionary

Kaylee started saying some words! They aren't clear at all, but today especially she was copying some words. The only catch is that we can't ask her to say the word if she knows the sign. If we ask her, she will just sign it. Her words so far are:

Uh-Oh

Yes (I am beyond proud that she learned yes before no)

Oh Yes

Hi

This

Hobbs (I do believe this was her first word after mama and dada)

Up

Sit (said to Hobbs)

Please (once today)

I think she also tried to say snap today (as in the snaps on her clothes)

Her signing vocabulary is MUCH larger, but I am hoping she starts to talk more and more. I can not wait to hear her thoughts. I know that is a ways away, but I still can't wait. I love this little girl so much more than I ever thought possible!

New Recipes #1 and #2

I was actually excited to try both of these recipes for our ward's Halloween party. They were having a Chili cook-off and I signed up for it, so I figured it was a great time to try something new. This was the recipe I used, because it didn't look or sound too difficult.

Amazingly, out of about 20 different chilies at the party, MINE WON!!! Haha! I was so proud and kept gloating to myself that my first ever chili attempt won 1st place in a contest!

Ghost Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Chicken Breast, Cubed
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
• 1-½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 2 cans (15.5 Oz) Great Northern Beans, Rinsed And Drained
• 1 can (14.5 Oz) Chicken Broth
• 2 cans (4 Oz.) Chopped Green Chilies
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
• ¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• ½ cups Whipping Cream

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large pot. Saute chicken, onion, and garlic powder until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and cream.

If you like your chili very mild, reduce the amount of chilies to 1 can, or rinse and drain the chilies well.

To make a less rich, healthier version, use 2 cups sour cream and 1/4 cup milk.

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I also decided to make a dessert for the party too and these were the first dessert that caught my eye. Not super simple looking....ok, REALLY not simple looking, but they didn't sound hard. I was in a big hurry while I was making them, and was making the chili at the same time so I didn't put my best effort into them. I also ran out of time to put the spider webs on the tops. Personally, I don't think they tasted that good. Maybe I didn't put enough sugar in them, but they weren't very sweet.....and they didn't look as good as these one.

Halloween Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

• 12 whole Halloween Oreos
• 8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, softened
• ½ cups Granulated Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• ½ cups Pureed Pumpkin
• 1 whole Egg
• ¼ teaspoons Cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoons Nutmeg
• 2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
• 1 pinch Salt
• ½ cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips, Optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 Oreo in the bottom of each muffin tin. Set aside.

In large bowl, whip cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and salt until combined. Scrape sides of bowl and whip mixture until completely smooth. Spoon mixture evenly over Oreos. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheesecakes have set. Remove from oven to cool.

Once cheesecakes are cool enough to handle, remove from muffin tin. Remove paper wrappers. Microwave chocolate chips until smooth and completely melted. Spoon chocolate into a piping bag with a small round tip. Pipe melted chocolate in concentric circles on top of cheesecakes. Drag the end of a toothpick through the chocolate to create a spider’s web look, starting in the center and dragging outward. Repeat with remaining cheesecakes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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I really want to try both recipe's again, especially the chili because I didn't get any! It was gone 5 minutes after I put it on the table at the party.

All Hallows Eve

Robert, Kaylee, and I went to our ward Halloween party and Trunk-or-Treat on Saturday evening and had a lot of fun! It was a bit crazy getting our costume's together, cooking for the chili contest, and getting the stuff to decorate the trunk of the car. But we did it and eventually got to the party.

There were actually a lot of people there

And the even had a bouncy house and "boxing ring"

Here are all three of us.....not sure exactly what Robert and I were....

but Kaylee was an adorable little bee

Kaylee and Robert

Kaylee and me

She was very interested in the bouncy house, and would have loved it if there were a ton of crazy kids in it who would have plowed her over.

so she just got to watch from outside.

We put her in the less busy boxing ring thing, but it still worried her (and me)

We did the "spook walk" a few times

first with daddy

Then with me where we won!

They gave out tickets for playing and winning at the games and then had a prize/treat table where you could buy things. Kaylee really liked these little tops so we got her two.

Then she got to try to eat them while Robert tried to get them to spin.

We all headed out to the cars for the Trunk or treat which was crazy! There were a ton of children and they all ran from car to car asking for demanding candy. Most of them were pretty polite about it, but others made you want to take the candy back. Robert and I took turns walking Kaylee from car to car, and made sure that she said (signed) "thank you" for every piece of candy she got. She had fun running from car to car, and really liked looking into her pink pumpkin bucket full of candy.

Trunk-or-treating with daddy

Then she came back and helped hand out candy from our spooky trunk.....

....really she just ate a bunch of the candy herself.

I now understand why parents dread Halloween night. Kaylee was so wired from the few pieces she got to eat that it took her almost an hour to go to sleep for the night. Then she was tired, cranky, and craving more sugar the whole next day. I think next year she may be rationed to 1 piece of candy the actual evening of Halloween.

I can't wait for next year! I am already thinking of unique costumes we could do for her, and group costumes we could do with the three of us and the two dogs. It will be SO fun!