Chey feeding Zoe

Chey and Dallas were both in less-than-favorable-graces of Mom and Dad tonight (care of not listening at the park coupled with blatant disobedience) but it is still shower night and boy did those kids need to be washed. Chey had been reduced to sitting in her little chair right next to me (otherwise her personal choices left much to be desired) while I finished feeding Zoe. Cam was down the hall getting Dallas going on his shower.

After Zoe shoved a fist in her mouth, I decided she must not want to finish her jar after all and left to use the bathroom telling Chey she "needed to be in that chair when I got back or she would be in trouble." When finished, I walked back out to the kitchen just in time to see this:

Sometimes kids make up for hours of horrible behavior with only minutes to spare...

Playing with Zoe

Zoe loves to be around people and dislikes being left out. Luckily Dallas and Chey adore her and usually keep her around. There are a few times that they start playing with her and then migrate to another room leaving her behind. After a few minutes, Zoe will start yelling. If no one responds that usually turns into a cry. She has been doing this since about month four (she just hit five months four days ago).

We have to talk to the two about being gentle and not making Zoe's body move, especially in painful or awkward ways. Dallas loves to carry her and Zoe loves to be carried and given the attention by her older brother; she often smiles when he talks to her and comes to pick her up.



Dallas and Chey were playing Duck, Duck, Goose and let Zoe join in. I will admit this video is staged as I was not quick enough with the camera before.

I love that even with their vast age differences, my children love playing together!

Sledding

After taking Cam up to campus, we stopped by a store to look at sleds. It is the perfect time in Logan to look at sleds 1) there is more snow on the ground this weekend than any other time since we moved here January 1st, 2) all the stores are clearance-ing their snow items to make way for spring.

We grabbed a plastic dish for $3. Went home, dressed in our snow clothes, drove back to campus where Cam took Zoe and the car back home while Dallas, Chey and I trudged up USU's east hill. Unfortunately I forgot the camera. We took turns sledding in various combination of bodies on the sled. The kids both decided they liked all three of us sledding down together best. We took a break and built a snowman - that turned into a snow angel and sled down once more before we had to head home to take care of Zoe.

Luckily we did all of this before 11am because now, at 3pm, the light snowing has turned to a drizzle and the snow is disappearing. There has been an odd amount of rain and snow this winter since we moved here. I think Logan has received more precipitation by rain than snow. We have been spending lots of time at the library.

The Many Faces of Chey

I want to remember how much of a goof and spit-fire Chey was as a pre-schooler, just in case she decides to change :)

She was potty training in these pictures with the power of her new Agent P shirt from "Phineas and Ferb," one of the kids' favorite TV shows (and I will admit I like them as well). To commemorate the beginning of potty training I asked her to smile...

Potty Training

We potty trained Chelane this last month. We started January 16th going cold turkey. We put on the underwear, bagged up the diapers, and had a talk about keeping dry.

She didn't pick up on going potty nearly as quickly as Dallas did, but she did take herself to poop the first day. We dealt with (what seems to be common) regressing with peeing the second day which she quickly fixed. We thought everything was dandy until she started regressing with pooping the second week.

With encouraging her to start pooping on the toilet again in mind, we made up a potty chart that second week that has a separate "poop" and "pee" sections . Once she filled up the first row (six bowel movements in the toilet) we went to McDonalds (her pick, whenever we ask what she wants for dinner she commonly answered McDonalds so she can, " have chicken nuggets, french fries, apples, and slide down"). Once she fills up the entire poop (12 times) and pee (36 times) she gets sticker earrings. It looks like we will be sticker earring shopping tomorrow!

She is doing great. She hasn't wet the bed at all, in fact she gets herself out of bed in order to go. Chey also has only had two accidents since she started pooping in the toilet again: yesterday when she decided candy she was eating was more important than going potty, that upset us, and a few days ago when Dallas was taking his sweet time in the bathroom and Chey really had to go, that one upset her.

It is nice to have two using the toilet and only the little one in diapers. Downside: our one bathroom is getting lots of use and the toilet needs to be cleaned often, but I'll take it :)

Halloween

Halloween this year was some carving pumpkins, trunk-or-treat at the ward party where Dallas also tried his hand at eating a donut on a string (he gave up after two nibbles), and the Children's Museum "Enchanted Woods" event.

The "Enchanted Woods" was done in the middle of October. The children gathered at the entrance of the museum where King Aurthur sent them on a quest in search of the Golden Rose (if you ask Dallas what they were looking for on their quest, he will still tell you, "the Golden Rose"). They were to ask those they met for assistance and to give them any assistance that they could, because the kids were knights (Aurthur knighted them before they embarked on the quest) and knights always help those around them. The children traveled through the museum meeting Robin Hood, Long John Silver, Humpty Dumpty, Dorothy and the Scarecrow, and many other storybook characters. They helped everyone they met and in return the kids got information on where to find the Golden Rose (if the character knew anything) and a little treat (donated to the museum by local businesses: some small toys or coupons or candy... one stop gave them all schoolboy apples from a local farm). It was very fun for the kids and taught them a few good lessons as well. I have no pictures from that day... not good planning on my part.

Dallas' favorite song is "What's This" from Tim Burtons "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Dallas has never seen the movie, but he loves that song (and can sing most of it himself). When it was time to carve the pumpkin we went online to glean ideas from free pumpkin templates. One template was Jack Skelington, the main character, and singer of "What's This", on "Nightmare Before Christmas". Dallas was sold. He wanted a "Jack" pumpkin. So I gave it a whirl.
Unfortunatly, Jack has a stitched mouth which is fairly difficult to carve into a pumpkin, but it all worked out, although Jack is missing a few teeth...


The ward night I again didn't bring the camera with me so you don't get to see Chelane wearing her Trick-or-Treat bag around her neck and pointing to it when asking for candy or Dallas trying to eat the donut on a string. We must be content with pictures in really bad lighting instead...

Dallas got to be Woody this year and Chelane was stuck using his old Buzz Lightyear costume from last year. She did love being Buzz, although she was mistaken for a boy a lot.

These pictures are after the Trunk-or-Treat. Chelane wanted her face painted, which she didn't hold too still for and didn't keep her hands off afterwards... oh well, I should have seen that coming! Dallas has a Chinese yo-yo in his hand. He LOVED playing with it until he (or his sister) pulled the paper off.

The kids weren't the only one who dressed up. I came almost straight from work and didn't bother doing anything fun. However, Cam went all out. He grew out his hair and sideburns since mid-September when Dallas mentioned he wanted Dad to be Wolverine from X-Men for Halloween. Cam visited a local cosmetology school right before the Trunk-or-Treat to get the hair right.


He finished the look off with a flannel, jeans, his leather jacket, and old army dog-tags.

Please excuse the deer-in-the-headlights look, I really have no idea how that happened! This may be a costume we just improve upon every year, Cam had lots of fun dressing up!

The Wild Locks

Chelane was cursed blessed with fine and wispy hair that also has a loose curl. The fine/wipsy part forces her hair to do very odd things when slept on, and doesn't allow for easy styling; while the 'loose curl' part gives her hair wave with no determinable direction. Put these together and you have a volatile combination.

If left to its own devices, Chelane's hair makes her appear to be a homeless child of seeing-impaired parents. Unfortunately I don't have a picture to prove my point... or perhaps the lack of pictures does just that.

Before I started working, I put effort into Chelane's hair... once and a while (see object 1). Her hair would be very cute for approximately 15 minutes after I put it up (again you will need to trust me, I never took pictures of the ruined product).

Object 1: Cute hair Chelane

After moving to Utah, I have no time in the morning to do Chelane's hair (not to mention I am often gone before the kiddos awaken). However, on days off I attack Chelane's hair with a renewed vigor. Since it had such natural curl, I decided to force it to work in our favor and broke out the defuser.

Just like her mommy's hair, while Chelane's hair has an abundance of curl in the back, the front will not curl to save a life; so I pinned it up. I honestly believe the end product is amazingly cute (but I am bias) and wish I could make her hair do this every time.

Chelane was very unhappy at being subjected to the hair dryer. We had to console her with her binky. But oviously the binky wasn't consoling too well...

A less accusing Chelane. See all the curls?

From the back.

Of course I dolled her up so we could go out. By the time we reached out destination, Chelane had mushed most of the curl out of her hair. Oh well, at least I have pictures to prove it was cute.

Chey's Birthday

Back in September, Chelane turned the big oh-two.

The question on everyone's lips: "is she in her 'terrible twos'?"
And my answer is: "Chelane is very advanced... we have been dealing with the 'terrible twos' for a few months now".

Chelane (and Dallas) had a wonderful time opening the cards and gifts. Here are some pictures of the day. We were going to have cupcakes and have her blow out a candle, but somehow we never got around to it. Blame it on the Mommy working; I am not good at scheduling family things while working full-time. But we do have some fun pictures nonetheless.

Chelane opening her card.

Chelane opening her first gift: the backpack. She didn't want to take it off all night.


She is very happy to show it off.


Opening Tinkerbell. Dallas and Chelane both enjoy playing with this one :)


Last gift: Baby doll set that I bought at Kmart over a year ago.

Both kids enjoyed celebrating the birthday. Chelane is growing up very fast. She is very vocal and extremely opinionated.

Also of note: as you may have noticed, the back of Chlane's hair is quite short. That is Mommy's handiwork. It was a failed attempted at what was envisioned to be a very cute bob. Obviously the "bob" part didn't pan-out; however, it has tamed her wild locks (by removing them)... for now...

Kassie #2

My mom habitually calls us kids by our sibling's names. I thought it had something to do with all us kids having K- or J- names; you seem to be setting yourself up for failure giving your kids like-sounding names (however, now that I have kids of my own, I find Moms mix up all their kids' names no matter how different they sound).

My little sister, Karma, seemed to get the worst of the sibling-name-mix-up. She was called "Kassie" so often we starting nicknaming her "Kassie #2". No one was immune from calling her by the wrong name. It wasn't only my mom, it was everyone in the family (and even some family friends).

Once when I was very upset with her, I sternly said, "Kassie!... " and the rest of my tirade was lost in laughing. I couldn't keep a straight face after calling her by MY name.

Chelane has started calling me Kassie. Cam and I correct her and say "Mom" after every time. She more often calls me "Mom" now.

It is our "fall break" here in Utah so we took the kids to the Kangaroo Zoo (much like the Bouncy Place back home), went to Temple Square and visited the Visitor's Center (Cam wanted the kids to see the large Christus), then headed a little more South to visit with some friends until Karma was off work.

All day we were telling the kids that we were going to see Karma, and Chelane would say, "Karma?" However once we got there, we asked Chelane, "Who is that?" and she said, "Kassie". While carrying her, Cam drilled her on the "Who is that?" question. Chelane would say "Karma" then when she got in earshot of Karma, would change to "Kassie". Karma decided Chelane was just doing it to get a rise out of her (where on earth did she learn to do that?!) As for me, I think it is just a reminder to Karma that she can never escape her past as "Kassie #2".

The Apartment * The Job * The Kids * The Hubby

The Apartment: is great. The best self-funded place we have ever lived in since tying the knot. It isn't perfect, but I am ridiculously happy with it, especially after hearing about a teenage "shooter" a block away from a townhouse we had been looking at and wanting(and almost got except the leasing guy went out of town and we couldn't get a hold of him and didn't want to wait). The area down here in South Ogden is much safer, prettier, and out-of-the-way without being way out. Dallas and Chelane are sharing a room (and a bed... it is a full), the Ward has many old people and young couples (I really love having "old people" wards, they have so much more experience and a much better perspective on life), and there are many kids in the apartment complex. I am sure pictures will come shortly.

The Job: is great. I really enjoy teaching but I get WAY stressed out over all the things I need to do. It isn't helping that about a quarter of my Algebra students do not have books (we discovered this a few days before the school year started, the wrong books had been ordered over the summer; we fixed it but the correct books are on back-order) so I am making worksheets for everything lately. Also, it is Parent-Teacher Conference this week so grades need to be in and I get to stay at the school until 8pm on Thursday (yay, me!).

I am still not very organized either. I feel like I am mostly treading water and only making little progress at a time, but it still is progress. I have to keep myself from thinking too long term (of all the things I need to do) or I REALLY freak out. Poor Cam has to deal with it all; I think my moods may have been worse than when I was pregnant. Dallas tells me to "calm down" and asks me if I am OK quite a bit. I have been having a little depression, but I think it is just tied to the new-working-Mom thing. I believe this would be all easier it I knew the kids weren't at home waiting for me to come home. Also, since I do teach math, there are always students who want to stay after because they do not understand something (especially if they missed class), which isn't conducive to the getting-things-done-quickly-at-school-in-order-to-get-home-early desires I have.

However, I did find that the school has a grant for teachers with Math and/or Science licenses: $30/hr for after contracted time spent with tutor students. I already have over seven hours since the beginning of the school-year. It is like having another part-time job.

I do love teaching and I do love math.

The Kids: are great!
Dallas: Dallas' speech is getting better. He talked to his "Nana" on the phone a few weeks ago and she could understand what he was saying without a translator. He is getting better at correcting himself and mimicking correct speech. He is also a puzzle whiz. He doesn't sit still for many things but puzzles, movies, and learning new things he does. The kid is a sponge!

He likes to help in the kitchen: measuring, baking, cleaning. His favorite is to crack eggs and he does so masterfully. You will see a video soon.

We also have a pretty awesome Children's Museum here (I bought a family membership the first week we were here) and we frequent it often (every Friday at least). Aside from there very cool exhibits that keep Dallas and Chelane busy, they have a "step on stage" program and hold a "partici-play" a few times everyday. At these "partici-plays" the kids get to act out parts while a museum employee narrates a story. Dallas loves them; Chelane has a hard time sitting through them. We have some pictures of these as well.

Chelane has started saying three word phrases like: "sit on you" and "stop it, Dallas" all very clearly. She is among the youngest in nursery at church (nursery ages are 15-36+ months and she is only 23 months) but she is almost the tallest (the only child that beats her is over 3 years old). She asked to use the potty the other night and actually went... we are thinking maybe trying to potty train her during my break in October. We haven't decided yet. She is more attached to her binky than ever. She has taken to hiding under the kitchen sink and running away from you when you call. What can I say? She is two.

The Hubby: Cam didn't start school this semester. We didn't realize that tuition was due so soon (which I should have remembered from going to college) and we didn't have all the necessary things to apply for residency yet. While we probably would have been refunded the extra tuition cost, we didn't have the money to front it all right then and were still trying to adjust. So Cam decided to take the time off. He was initially looking for a job, perhaps back at his old work, but we decided against it. The hours wouldn't work well for school and it is a solid 40 minutes away (in good traffic).

He is still looking into other part-time-in-the-evening possibilities, but he is being the stay-at-home daddy for now. During the first week he commented, "Chasing after the kids all day is tiring." Really? I mentioned that if you try to get a schedule going it works better than just trying to keep them out of mischief all day. They are usually car-less during the day so that makes doing things outside the home tough. Right now he and Dallas are doing a 100 piece astronaut puzzle.


An older gentleman sat next to me and the kids in the pew at church(Cam went home a little early with backpain). Chelane sat on his lap from time to time. He said it took him back to 50 years ago when his kids were that little. I know I will cherish these days. Working makes me miss being home. I would change places with Cam in a heartbeat.

My Name is Kassie and I have a problem...

I buy way too many toys for my kids at clearance sales... Seriously. Kmart and Targets seasonal toy clearances kill me. I don't really spend too much but I LOVE going there for birthday/Christmas presents. However, we were pretty set for said holidays after the LAST clearance sale, but I still went to another one today and Target hasn't even done their summer clearance sale yet. I can't miss Target's sale...

Today I went shopping at Kmart in Kent, who is having their "additional 50% off clearance toys sale", but I brought the kids with me, which I am deciding is not a good idea. The one purchase I am super happy about was a pack of 10 transformers, all about the size of matchbox cars, that actually do transform (and some rather complexly). But Dallas saw them and LOVES them; so of course they were taken out of the box and "transformed" within a half hour of returning home. So much for Christmas and Birthday presents.

I should probably just take the other three things I bought at Kmart back, especially if I am going to hit the Target sale coming up in the next few weeks...

The Interview

I know this is in reverse order (telling you that I got the job and THEN talking about the interview) but the interview(s) were just too fun not to share. So here it goes.

The school contacted via email and asked to set up a time to do a phone interview. That morning I got the kiddos fed and all situation with a movie to await the call. When it came I went to a back bedroom, to reduce extra noise but so I could still hear the kids. Well the interview was going (apparently) well when Dallas decided to pick that 30 minute period I was going to have a phone interview to have a bowel movement.

I hear a, "Mom! I went poop in the potty!" Followed by a, "Mom, wash my bum!" The yells got more and more desperate as I left him on the toilet, culminating in a shrill, "MOM!". Finally, craddling phone against my shoulder, I figure I can get Dallas taken care of without stopping the phone conversation.

I am sure most of you moms out there are betting against me already. And you would be right, it didn't work.

Nothing crazy happened, like dropping the phone in the toilet, but, much to me chagrin, I had to excuse myself. The ladies on the other end were very understanding of my leave. After I returned, they finished their questions and ended with a promise to give me another call at the end of the week.

A few days later, I decide to take a shower after breakfast while the kids are watching TV. As the water starts, I think, through the sound of the running water, I hear the cell phone ringing.

Now, I have thought I heard TONS of things through the shower. It started when Dallas was a newborn baby and I was so nervous about leaving him sleeping in his crib while I showered that I would stop the water 2 or 3 times when I "heard" him crying. Now-a-days, when I "hear" something while I am showering, I write it off as the running water playing tricks with my mind.

Only this time it wasn't.

After I stopped the water, Dallas walks to the bathroom door and informs me that Grandma had called as he hands me the cell phone. I pulled up incoming calls and, sure enough,the number of the school called 5 minutes ago.

I was a little mortified.

I immediately called them back, wondering what Dallas had done/said and how it had been taken on the other end... The school secretary puts me on hold for the director (read: principal), who answers my call with a, "How old is your son?" Yes, the two ladies, the school director and the math department head, who had conference called for my interview, had called back (on conference) only to be answered by my 3 year-old son, who talked to them for a short while before hanging up. They were both laughing fairly hard as I tripped over myself apologizing.

They had called back to offer me the job and, after all that, amazingly enough, they went through with it. I think this school may be a good fit for me.

On a side note I have been so used to, "You were one of the best interviews and we would love to have you at our school but, we went with someone with more experience..." that I was quite speechless when they offered me the job. When I could finally make words come (I had a few "gracious looser" responses prepared but no acceptance speech) I accepted the job on the spot, to which the ladies replied (laughing) "Wouldn't you like to talk it over with your husband?" Oh, yeah the husband, oops...

On a more sider note, in the last month Chelane has learned:
1. milk + straw = geyser of bubbles
2. inhaling air + drinking = burp on will (no joke)

While Dallas has started letting himself out of the house for walks (complete with shoes and snacks).

/sigh

Which Would Be Messier... ?

A one-and-a-half old eating cereal or the same toddler eating toaster waffles with peanut butter and syrup on them? I don't know what you would choose, but I would think the waffles would be messier.

However.

When Chelane eats cereal, we end with it on the floor, stuck to her bum, and her bib and shirt SOAKED with milk. She hardly make it out unscathed from cereal. And peanut butter sandwiches are even worse (she likes to open the bread and give herself butter-and-jam facials and a her hair a deep jam treatment).

So why is it that when she eats waffles with peanut butter and syrup, she uses her fork admirably, and comes out with perfect hair and little need to wash her hands or face?

Chelane, I don't understand you.

New Tricks

Dallas' preferred method of communication was signing until September-ish of last year. Since then his speech has exploded with full sentences and some fun quirks. We haven't hit the how-do-we-get-him-to-stop-talking yet and still really enjoy hearing him express himself verbally.

Last night he sang "Happy Birthday" to his Grandpa almost completely by himself. He can count to 10 at high speed (we are working on getting through those pesky teen numbers). He doesn't just say "no" but "no no no no no ..." usually with a sing-song tune. But we were really floored last night when, after discussing who was to say the family prayer, Dallas pulled out a "Dear Heavenly Father, Thankee for this day. Thankee for Mom, Ch'ane, (his version of 'Chelane' pronouned 'Shane'), Larryboy (not sure why Larryboy from Veggie Tales was wiggling his way into Dallas' prayers, but Dallas does love watching Larryboy). Thankee for Grampa, Jadon (his 12 year old uncle). Thankee for this day. Thankee play. Thankee Dad, Larryboy, Jadon. Name Jesus Christ, Amen." With no help, no prompting, nothing. Cam and I were very impressed.

Chelane is also learning some new tricks. The most prominent one lately is following his her daddy's footsteps to earn the family name of 'Mooch' by walking up to anyone with food, saying, "bite" and opening her mouth with an "ah, ah, ah" until the bite is given.

Photo Shoot

Some family pictures! These were taken back in November (so the kids have grown up a little bit since then) but they are still as cute. It was also SUPER cold that day, so the kids were pretty cranky and a little runny/red nosed. However, thanks to the talents of Carrie Stroud, you can't even tell!

The English Language

Dallas has been going through a contrary phase for, well, ever. With his increasing verbal skills his protests to "Dallas please help me" have gone from "no" to "no mommy" to "no help me, mommy" (the "no help me, mommy" is him negating what I ask him to do... he isn't asking for me to help him instead).

This morning, before breakfast, we were cleaning up last night's mess (Dallas had a bit of a melt down on the way to bed last night, so not much cleaning got done). I asked Dallas to help me, par always, and got the, "No help me, mommy. No help me. No help... you. No help you, mommy."

At least he is using proper pronouns when he protests now...

Chelane, on the other hand, is a helper. She love to put things "in," many people mistake this for loving to clean-up, which she doesn't always want to do.

However yesterday, with Dallas being contrary, I asked him to put his blanket, which was out in the family room, on his bed. Dallas refused and walked away. Exasperated, I turned to Chelane and said, "Chelane can you go put Dallas' blanket on his bed?" and she did. I will admit I was not expecting it. This morning Chelane also put her binkie and stuffed Nemo fish back in her crib on the first request.

I am amazed at her receptive comprehension and of her willingness to obey. Please tell me this isn't just a phase.

New Things in the Last Week or So...

I was talking to my sister in-law and part of the conversation went something like this:

Me: "Well I will still be working those three days before Christmas so it would be nice to be close to home."
Sister in-law: "Wait, you have a job?"
Me: "Yeah I got it pretty suddenly about a week ago..."

At that moment it dawned on me that no one (expect the people I live with and the recipient of that phone conversation) know my happy news about no longer being unemployed. The job is at Mathnasium (you can google it if you are curious) which is a math-only tutoring place. I went in for an interview that turned into a math competency test, an interview, and some tutoring practice (the half hour I was planning on turned into nearly two). I got a call a little over a week later asking if I could start that day. That was last Tuesday.

The job is fun but the pay isn't stellar. However, I get raises as I finish their training program and as they see progress in my abilities. Hopefully that will be a pretty big raise, but if not the people I work with are fun, the job is enjoyable, it will look good on my resume, the hours work well with Cam's class schedule, and it is five minutes from home. And it is some financial stability so I am not stressed which Cam appreciates.

Now the more exciting stuff:

In the last week Chelane passed the line of "preferring to crawl" over into "preferring to walk." She can be seem waddling everywhere she goes now, rarely resorting to crawling.

In the last week or so she has reminded us that she is on her way to being two; vehemently expressing her opinions and complaining when things aren't to her liking; I am already worrying about her as a teenager.

Since Monday she has insisted on drinking liquids from a cup without aid of a sippy-top, straw, or a mommy/daddy helping out. Yep, she takes the cup from you puts it to her own mouth, tilts it by herself, and drinks. She gets quite annoyed with you if you try to help her. Cam and I are a little floored by this since she seems to be on par with Dallas' mastery of this skill.

In the last week she has increased her signs from one (her hand moving to her mouth to mean "drink", "food", and/or "binki") to "food/eat", "drink", "please", and "more". She is putting a "buh" sound with waving bye-bye.

Dallas said, "Mom watch this" to me at lunch and proceeded to do some silly dance while shaking his head. He is talking more and more; attempting more and more words and repeating things he hears you say.

We tried playing a memory-type game with him a few weeks ago. He caught onto the order you turn things over in and how to wait and take turns. Playing games is now when of his favorite things to do.

Happy Birthday Chelane!

This did happen back on September 30th but with being in Canada, I am just now getting around to writing and sharing pictures about it. (sorry the pictures are pixely or something, they do look better if you click on them and view them full-sized)
Here is the ever-happy birthday girl with her birthday cupcake. I remember Dallas and my little brother's first birthdays both ended in tears and un-touched cake (unless someone making them touch it counts). Chelane was completely different.


As you can see she adored the attention.


And couldn't wait to dig into the cake. (Yeah I started to freak a little too with how close she came to touching fire and hot wax; but, hey, that is the hazard of having a birthday party... we live on the edge).


Big brother Dallas approaching an oblivious Chelane. Yes, he blew out the candle.


After the candle and paper was removed Chelane began to inspect the sprinkle laden cupcake.




Either she really inhaled it that fast or I stopped taking pictures... It reminds me of my first birthday picture (apparently I liked the cake so much I tried to eat the plate). Such a happy girl on her birthday!

Walks in September

Finally some long-promised Canada pictures!

Something I love to do is walk in nature. I am not too fond of taking walks around a neighborhood; I would rather look at flowers and trees than houses and cars. An advantage to being in Vanderhoof was the abundance of nature. Just looking out the window we would see fields and forests, not to mention horses and the occasional coyote (or coyote pack, no joke we had 4 of them walking along the house fence once).

The kids and I went on a two walks together. The first time was September 14th. Cam had been working a week already of 10+ hour days. I got a little stir crazy once and a while so I decided to go on a walk along the horse/ATV/farm-truck road (or dirt path) that paralleled the highway into town, but first we had to go down the 1/2 mile driveway.


Above is a picture of the driveway that I took while I was bored of waiting for this:


Or this:


There is something very interesting about grass to a toddler... it may be that it was taller than he was.


Chelane and I on this adventure:


She was happy some of the time, see? Well maybe "happy" is too strong a word... she didn't look like she was ready to kill the photographer during the whole walk...


We did eventually leave the driveway, which is more than I can say on any other walk. This is a view of a field by the highway. When we left in late October is was housing cows.


Dallas showcasing his amazing stay-with-mommy skills. He has ran away from me in Target since we have been back, I had to go collect him from Customer Services... (You can see the cars on the highway to the right, don't worry there was a big ditch between us and them).


Funny story behind this next picture. I took it, looked at the screen, and decided to zoom in (so you could actually see Dallas, he is that speck in the wheel path). When I held the camera back up and zoomed in I couldn't see Dallas anywhere, then I heard him crying. He had fallen out of the wheel path and into the bushes and brambles off to the side; he couldn't stand back up. I had to fish him out.

If you would like more Canada posts just say so, or tell me you don't... whatever. It doesn't matter though, you will still get them muh-hahaha.

Shoe Shopping

We went shoe shopping today mainly for me and Chelane, but Dallas got a pair of the next size up too. We needed to find some type of shoe Chelane couldn't just pull off her foot willy-nilly like all the other cute Mary-Jane-type shoes we tried in the past, and we found some really cute, gender-neutral, black, converse-y like high tops.

My eyes were pulled to some girly - but not too girly - brown dress shoes; and I decided black converses wouldn't be so appropriate for church, no matter what Karma may say to the contrary. So I tried them on Chelane's foot. Chelane regarded the beige sandal-like shoes with no apparent interest and immediately pulled some shiny, black, slightly-heeled, strap-around-the-ankle dress shoes (in her size) off the shelf and handed them to me. She watched as I put them on and giggled in delight seeing them on her feet.

I had to go talk to Dallas about his shoes and left Cam to finish with Chelane. Cam and I talked back and forth down the aisle; we agreed we should get the brown shoes: they would stay on better, wouldn't show scuffs as easily, and I thought they would match more. Well they cost the same so Cam and I decided to let Chelane choose. She chose the shiny, patent black shoes... twice.

I took her with me to my area of the shoe store where she started pulling out shiny red shoes. Apparently I had a real girl with a shoe fetish and all.