Tot Clock, Baby Blues, and Eve's Best Friend

 Reed has a new love and affection. It is called My Tot Clock. I was talking to a friend recently and she had mentioned this specific clock and how much she loves it. After looking at options, I decided to buy it (a used one because it was about $20 cheaper). I mostly got it for Eve. She was starting to wake up early and come into our room. I wanted her to stay in bed, even if she wasn't asleep, but realized that she might need something to be able to tell when she was allowed to get out of bed. Most of the reason she started waking up early (at least we think) is due to our paper-thin walls and small living quarters. Tyson's alarm goes off and the whole apartment can hear it (and it's on vibrate). We'll see what happens when we move and our walls are on opposite sides of the house and the master bedroom also has a bathroom attached to it.

Anyways - I got the tot clock and have loved it! You set the awake and sleep times. The clock saves it and automatically turns yellow when it's time to be awake and blue when it's time for bed. You can have music playing and a story to listen to at bedtime as well. But, you can also turn this option off. You can have music playing for wake up time as well - but again, you can turn this option off. There is a red button for time out (or whatever you choose to call it) and a green button for encouragement. There is also a light blue button for nap time (you set the amount of time for each of those buttons. After the allotted time, it turns yellow again). The kids have really loved the clock! Time outs are better because they can see the clock and see it turn yellow. It is also amazing how fast Reed can get dressed when I turn the clock green (I set it for 5 minutes and he is usually dressed in under 3 minutes - socks and all. Without that clock, it can take him up to 25 minutes to actually get dressed). It has been a great motivator for my kids and Eve stays in bed until the clock turns yellow! So, yes, it was worth the money because it has saved some of my sanity (albeit, most of it is already gone).

Reed loves to take pictures of the new clock. 

All of my children have beautiful blue eyes. Both Tyson and I have blue eyes, so the blue is pretty much inevitable, and I am not-so-secretly hoping that one of my children has the purple-blue eyes that are extremely rare (I call them Elizabeth Taylor eyes). Maybe someday :) Although all of them have blue, each has a different shade of blue. Awesome! I just wanted to show off Aria's baby blues. I get comments about her beautiful blue eyes almost daily. Her eyes just 'pop' she looks at you. So beautiful and deep. Her are her baby blues :)

Doesn't it just make your heart melt?! (February 20th)

Being a happy girl! 

Aria's stare. 

She loves her bebe pod!

Eve is such a happy and friendly little girl. She loves her siblings (although Aria still gets a bit nervous because Eve can be pretty rough) and plays awesome with other kids. As I got thinking about it, I wasn't sure if Eve has any actual friends. I know that she is 2 and that most 2 year-old children don't necessarily have real friends because they still love playing by themselves. But, they are starting to really like interacting with other kids. Well, since Eve has been interacting with Reed since day 1 (pretty much), she plays very well with other kids and we discovered she knows all the kids' names in nursery! 

She was sitting at church one day and looked over at a boy in preschool. She said, "Mommy, there's Grant!" I had no idea she knew who Grant was. She then pointed to 2 different girls names Sadie and told me their names. She's a genius! :) But, her best friend (my guess, anyways) would have to be James. During preschool James' mom and I switch off watching James and Eve. They both get excited to go to the other person's house. They play famously together and have recently started making each other laugh and giggle! So, James gets the best friend status. Thanks James, for being such a fun boy for Eve to play with! She loves it and talks about him often. 

Eve - so happy that James is sitting next to her (February 20th)

James during snack time. 

Saying Good-bye

I am a pretty nostalgic person. Things as silly as papers from elementary school evoke emotions and memories. For that reason, it is sometimes hard for me to part with things, even if I haven't thought about them in years.

Recently, I have begun packing to move to Las Vegas. Before the real packing begins, I have to sort through all the stuff we have and throw stuff away. Some of this is easy, but most of it is not. I probably spend way to much time analyzing if I will use it again or whether I should keep it or not. What I really should do is close my eyes and throw it away. I might just start doing that. Once it is gone, I find myself not missing it (usually). It's a work-in-progress definitely. 

I feel better after some of the clutter surrounding me leaves, even though I still get nostalgic. Ah well, that's how life is. I hope I can keep it up. I wish I could afford to throw almost everything away - it might just be a whole lot easier to throw an entire box away not knowing what was really inside. 

I decided if I know I don't need it anymore, but am having a hard time giving it away, I will take a picture of it, so at least I have some record of it and can look at it if I would like. So, here are some of the things that I recently said "Good-bye" to. 

This was unplanned. It is the vase from my best friend's wedding! I still love it and miss it, but it got broken and had a huge crack down the side. So, for safety reasons, I had to throw this one away. 

We got this for Varsity volleyball when I was a junior.

I have never worn it and didn't really intend to, so I gave it away.

This is my club volleyball jacket. I have not worn it since I was in high school, so I said, "Good-bye." 

February 16th - Gettin Creative

Lately, I have been amazed at the creativity of little kids - mostly as seen in the creativity of Reed and Eve. It never ceases to amaze me what they come up with on a daily basis! Boxes have about a million different uses (other to pack/store stuff) and I recently learned that ice cube trays have at least 20 different uses. Reed and Eve found some clear beads and black marbles to put in the ice cube trays. It was some sort of a game that they invented, but I am not quite sure how to play. It was so entertaining to watch them play a completely made-up game. It seemed pretty intense, but there was a lot of laughter! I love watching them use their creative brains to come up with fun new things!

The ice cube tray/bead/marble game

I also got a little creative on February 16th. I wanted to do something with Eve's hair other than a pony tail. The problem: Eve still have pretty thing hair, so a lot of stuff still falls out. So, I decided just to try 2 twisty things (yes, that's the official name)....and, it worked! It stayed in until after her nap (she is a VERY wiggly little sleeper) - I chalk that up to a success :)

The twisty things

Eve was also very excited to have it done. Also, she is just a little ham :)

I don't remember exactly what he was doing, but Reed was working really hard at something and would not look up for the picture. 

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has taken many shapes for me throughout my life. When I was in elementary school it was so much fun giving the valentines to my class and getting some in return. Really all we wanted was the candy anyways and made a  big deal when a boy's valentine said the word "love" on it. :) In junior high I remember giving valentines to my friends (since we didn't do the class thing anymore) and some of my friends gave out big items like stuffed animal bears! It was pretty exciting. In high school we could send valentines to each other for different fund raisers (I remember carnations with a note specifically) or we could bring our own, if we wanted to. We also had our names written on a heart and it was placed somewhere in the school. My friends and I always looked for each other's names (and we gave it to the other if we found someone's name). Valentine's in high school also seemed like a much bigger deal because usually you had a crush on someone or vice versa. That's why getting the carnations with notes seemed like a big deal. I do remember one Valentine's when I got a bouquet of roses sent to my house. It was delivered on the 13th (a Saturday) because Valentine's was a Sunday. The card was a bit obscure and was not signed with a name. It didn't say "Secret Admirer, " but it was something like that. I was really confused, but then realized that it was from a guy in college who I had met one time (because he visited my ward with a guy from my ward). I didn't know how to feel about that one. I was excited to get flowers, of course, but was a little weirded out that someone I did not even know was sending me flowers. They were beautiful, though. It did make me feel special on Valentine's. So, thank you person - I don't even remember your name.

Flash forward to college and Valentine's has a whole new meaning. Yes, there were Valentine's when I had a boyfriend, which was always fun. I would get a flower of some sort and we would go on a date somewhere. There were also many Valentine's where I did not have a 'valentine.' It didn't really bother me at all. I still loved Valentine's day and always wore either red or pink or a combination. My roommates and I did throw a "Singles Awareness" party on Valentine's once - that was awesome! I made heart-shaped cookies and jell-o jigglers and we served Stephen's hot chocolate (the mint is my favorite). When Tyson and I were dating, we had Valentine's at Aunt Janet's house (she is not really my Aunt, but we like to call her that because that is what she feels like). The morning of, I kept finding roses on my car (at random times during the day) with little poems/phrases on them! We both had school and I had work, so we didn't really see each other until that night when he came over to Aunt Janet's (I was living there at the time). Tyson made funeral potatoes and something else. We had a candle lit dinner. We watched Beauty and the Beast. He even had 10 presents for me because we had been dating for 10 months. He was trying to trick me into thinking he was going to propose. I probably would have thought that he was, if he would have been a little more nervous. But, it was definitely awesome!

The subsequent Valentine's have been while I was married. It is so much better having a forever Valentine - so much better! I remember working on a Valentine's and Tyson dropped off roses in my classroom at the MTC! All the missionaries were so excited. :) Tyson made homemade Thai food that time. So delicious! The next Valentine's I was very pregnant with Reed and we went to Thai Ruby (still our favorite Thai place in Provo). After leaving Provo, Valentine's Day has changed a bit.

Valentine's Day falls right during the busiest part of Tyson's busy season. He is working entirely too much, always on Saturdays, and sometimes a Sunday (if he has to). So, Valentine's Day takes a little bit of a backseat. We did go to Thai food the first busy season (2009), but only because Valentine's was over a weekend (it was Sunday, but we went out Saturday). The past few Valentine's have all fallen during the week, so we don't really do much. I do get flowers and usually some chocolate! Even with his busy schedule, Tyson finds time to do something nice for me. Yahoo for my forever valentine!

With the kids getting older, Valentine's has changed shapes on me again. Now, we make Valentine's for relatives and Reed's friends. Pretty soon we will be adding Eve's and Aria's friends to the mix. So, I can see the cycle of Valentine's starting all over again as my children get older. I know a lot of people don't like Valentine's, but I still think it's fun to make Valentine's and just let people know that you care for them. I guess I should do it more regularly, but Valentine's reminds me to do it at least on that day.

Here are the Valentine's we made on Valentine's Day. It was very last minute because everyone got sick the entire week before Valentine's, and I hadn't slept well with each kid waking up at sometime during the night. But, we did end up making a few (not as many as we normally would make). Reed also gave out Cars 2 valentines to the kids in his preschool. :)

These were for Grandma and Grandpa Rowberry

Reed wrote his own name!

These are the cards we made for Tyson and the roses Tyson sent to me.

Reed made this at preschool! 

Sleeping and Sisters

 I LOVE pictures of sleeping babies! There is something very calming, beautiful, and serene about sleeping babies. I usually don't get too many photos of my babies sleeping because they are in their cribs and I don't want to disturb them. Also, the crib is in a closet (yes, all 3 of my children have slept in a closet for the first part of their lives) and that door does not open and close very quietly. But, February 11 must have been a very sleepy day for Aria. I opened her door and this is what I found:

She just looks so peaceful!

So beautiful!

 She didn't even wake up when I took the pictures! She was just so sleepy and cute.

She did wake up a little while later. I left her in the crib for a minute to go get something from the front room. She started talking (she loves to talk) and when I came back I found this:

Toys are so much fun! 

 I also found the little girl who was responsible for the toy-giving:

Happy Eve

Eve was so excited to give Aria the stuffed animals. She put the entire contents of the drawer into the crib. Thankfully, all the toys were stuffed animals and nothing hard. Eve was so happy when I walked in. She said, "Look mommy! I gave Aria the animals!" She was just so proud of sharing with her little sister. Ahhh.... sisterly love! :)

Eve goes to the ER

January 28th was a fairly normal Saturday for busy season. We all got up, I jogged on the treadmill, then Tyson went to work for the day. I played with the kids and we tried to keep ourselves busy.

In the afternoon, we cleaned most of the house. Reed and Eve helped me with their room and the bathroom. Of course, they helped with the mirrors, toilet, and counter. Eve was helping me with the mirror above the sink, so was sitting on the little counter. When she was done, I picked her up with both hands and put her on the ground (No, I did not drop her). Immediately, she fell to the floor. I went into a semi-panic mode.

She had not fallen. Check. It had been a while since she had eaten, so I put her against the wall and gave her almonds and water. Sitting against the wall she acted normal, so I thought she was fine. However, she refused to walk! She had eaten. Check. She did not have a fever. Check. I moved her to the couch and just waited it out a little bit. She was still acting normal, as long as she was sitting. No visible bruises, swelling. Check.

A while later I made her stand up and she could do it, but fell towards me after a couple of seconds. She went back on the couch. I checked on my pediatrician's website, called Tyson, called my parents, and then called the doctor on-call. She recommended taking her to the emergency room. Unfortunately, it was a Saturday, so we couldn't just go in to the doctor's office. I was pretty nervous since Eve is not prone to injuries and seems to have a high tolerance for pain (she burned her finger and never told me it hurt, she scrapes knees and doesn't complain).

We decided to go to the ER and things went well. Before leaving, my dad had come to watch the other kids. We bribed Eve to walk to Grandpa for some Hershey's kisses. She did it, limping the whole time. So, we went to the ER with some favorite books and Scout (the dog) in tow. Eve was pretty hilarious and very much 2 at the ER. When we got into the room, she would not say a word to the doctor, nurse, or anyone else. She kept her head forward and zoned everyone out. She completely ignored anything going on around her and just stared straight ahead. Eve, who is miss bubbly, funny, and lively little girl was so still and quiet. She did not cry, did not smile, and seemed to be free of any emotion. I know that she must have been scared to act like that. Poor little miss!

The doctor's examined her leg and only one time did she even make the slightest wince of pain. It was on her left side. They got her to walk around and she was still limping, but not as much as before. They even took an x-ray and nothing showed up. So, we were given an inconclusive diagnosis (probably a virus), gave Eve some  ibuprofen, and we were sent home.

In hindsight, we probably could have avoided the whole scene. But, I was just unsure and did not want to regret the decision of not going to the ER. The 'What ifs' would not have stopped. So, I am glad we went, even though it turned out to be 'nothing.'

Carrots and Prunes

Who knew that carrots and prunes could be so messy and look so cute at the same time?! Aria is usually not the messiest eater - just on her chin mostly. February 9th, however, was a different story. She got some food on the back of her hand and before I could wipe it off she rubbed her eye. I am not sure how the bit of carrots got on her ear. She just kept getting messier and messier. But, she did have a fantastic time eating! She was just so proud of herself and all smiles!

Needless to say, a bath followed the enjoyment of the food. In fact, I am pretty sure she enjoyed the bath more than the food! It is her favorite time of day - laying in warm water, kicking to her heart's content, jabbering away, almost rolling over, and not being squished by her loving older siblings. Baths = Aria's safe spot. It was a good evening for her.

I just love that look!

Hey mom!

Trying to grab the camera

The bath post-eating

She always just enjoys being in the water.

Trying to grab a toy fish.