Home Sick

Here are pictures of Katrina's first ponytail! I went back and redid it after this with a comb and gel, but this was the very first one. And yes, she has some oatmeal on her forehead.

Today we are home sick. We had a fun day yesterday in NJ, but had to drive home in a snowstorm, so we were happy to get home safely. Here is Katrina's day-after-ponytail hair.

Luckily Daniel isn't sick yet, and he was good last night. I thought I would describe what a "good" night for us is. I always consider it a success when he falls back asleep easily after feedings (You can skip this if you want to avoid traumatic flashbacks to newborn days):

8:30 we get Katrina into bed and Daniel happily plays in crib watching the bedtime routine. I feed him. He spends the next several minutes looking around, enjoying things. Eventually he gets tired and we alternate walking him, attempt the swing, and finally Adam gets him to sleep in the room.

10:30 Daniel wakes up and we move into the bedroom to go to sleep. I feed him. He falls asleep on the boppy and I try to keep still until he is asleep enough to transfer to the bassinet. I turn off the light. That wakes him up and he fusses. Adam groans in anticipation of a long night. I cradle him in my arms and lie down in a probably fruitless attempt to get him to sleep. He falls asleep, but is a really mobile sleeper and hits me in the face a lot.

Midnight Daniel wakes and fusses, so I move him to the bassinet. He cries a bit. I put his seahorse in there and suprisingly, it works and he falls back asleep.

2:40 He wakes up crying, so I turn on the light and he is fast asleep. I stare for awhile as he wakes, falls asleep, wakes, falls asleep. Finally I turn off the light and fall back asleep.

4:00 He wakes for real and I feed him. He falls back asleep. I think I moved him to the bassinet. It's a little blurry.

7:00 He wakes. It's light enough I can feed him without the light on. We both fall asleep with him still on the boppy and me sitting up. Half an hour later I move him into the bassinet.

8:00 Daniel wakes and so I lay him down next to me, cradled in my arm, and we both sleep/doze for the next 45 minutes.

Anyway, that was our good night. The night before I spent half of it in the living room while he was in the swing and Adam spent over an hour walking a screaming baby in the middle of the night, so you can see how this night was so much better. Plus, he went from 10:30 to 4 without eating, which is a really nice stretch.

We are having a lazy day in our pajamas, drinking orange juice. Katrina got to have her first sippy cup full of watered-down orange juice. She was definitely a fan. She wanted to watch tv, so I told her we would watch a movie about Jesus. Then I changed my mind and put in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and told her it was "kind of" about Jesus. She's fascinated. We've already fast forwarded through a scary part, and I'm sure there will be more, but she likes it. Oh, and one more thing. Katrina saw Toy Story at her cousin's house once and loved it. She went around saying "Yee-aw," over and over again. A couple of days ago I decided to show it to her on Youtube (ten minutes at a time), and then the next day we watched the second one. She is obsessed with it now and often points at the computer and says "Yee-aww!" We will definitely have to actually buy a few Disney/Pixar movies.

Spool dolls completed

Here are the dolls, almost complete:
Notice something kind of weird? I'll go closer:

Ahhhh! Yeah, that needs fixing.

Here they are, complete except for my face and a finishing glaze, which I would have done except I realized that the "glaze" I bought is really just more white paint. Grr. Luckily I tested it on Nana's head and was able to wipe most of it off.

So this morning I finished them, except the glaze. Here are close-ups of all of them. Can you tell who is who?

They are Nana and Poppop, Katrina and Daniel, and me and Adam. I look like I have a really bad foundation and mascara job, but oh well. Katrina looks like a teenager and Daniel looks like an old man. Still, I'm very happy with them! I got the idea from a blog here and more pictures here. You can see that her painting skills are far superior to mine!

I'm linking to Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design and Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple.

Battle of the tv

Today is probably not the best day to start my battle against the TV. Katrina is sick with a perpetually runny nose and a cough, and I am sick and going off of two awful nights with Daniel. But it just has to stop. It fills up half her day, actively watching and playing with it on in the background. I've allowed it because I'm too tired to do otherwise and because I'm nursing Daniel all the time. He wants to eat every hour or 90 minutes, I swear. But that's another issue. I try feeding him longer and feeding him on the same side again to make sure he's getting hind milk, but he's just hungry, I guess. Whatever works to get him to stop screaming, I'm willing to do.

Our first battle lasted about ten minutes. She cried and cried and dribbled snot everywhere (so disgusting) and kept bringing me the remote. I'm pretty proud of myself for remaining patient and just telling her calmly "no more tv right now." It's so easy to think that if I just speak more forcefully and louder she'll listen better, but for the most part I refrained from that. She cried more. She even dragged over my diaper bag to me and I could tell she was totally thinking, "This made Mommy happy yesterday, maybe it will work again and she'll let me watch tv." But I held strong. She finally got distracted with something and by then Daniel was asleep and I could move him to go play with her.

Katrina's pretty average as toddlers go, but occasionally she'll do something that really surprises me and seems advanced. Like with her chalkboard: sometimes she will draw a squiggle and then point and tell me something in her gibberish, and it makes me think she's actually trying to draw that. She drew a squiggly line yesterday, pointed, and made her hissing noise like a snake. I drew a person on the board and she made a mark on its head and said, "Hat." That was surprising as well because she's never said "hat" before. To prove to me she knew what she was saying, she dragged me to the closet and pointed at it until I took all the hats down. It's been at least two months since we played with those hats, so I'm impressed at her memory.

Katrina had just gotten "Mama" down, but all of a sudden this week she switched to "Mom." It's so weird, but still rather cute. She says it in a very singsong way and it sounds kind of like "Momm," but said really quickly.

She's taking exception to me being on the computer, so I'm done, and hopefully there aren't too many spelling mistakes because no time to proofread.

Nothing much

I hate titling posts sometimes. Especially ones that really aren't centered on a specific subject.

Today was pretty laid back. I rotated as a bottle/pacifier/pillow all day for Daniel. He doesn't sleep on me very often anymore, so I treasured it. Unfortunately I think he was so sleepy because he might be coming down with the same cold as Katrina. He was kind of stuffy this morning. She couldn't fall asleep for her nap because of her coughing and congestion. She still spent awhile in there playing happily, and then right before I was going to go get her, she fell asleep for a short time. I have the humidifier on; hopefully tonight won't be too bad. I had hoped it was just teething but my own throat is starting to feel funny so it's definitely a cold and it's passing between all of us.

My little wooden dolls are coming along nicely. I've painted the bodies, mod podged some paper on them, and painted the hair. All that's left are the faces and a finished glaze. Painting isn't my strong point, so I'm nervous about the faces.

Katrina is my little helper on days like today where I am stuck under Daniel on the couch. She brings me the phone, she brings me burp cloths (and even wipes her nose with them at my request), she brings me my diaper bag so I can get her sippy cup. . . It's really cute. She called my sister this morning on my cell phone. That's the second time in the last week or two!

Have I mentioned that my oldest sister got married last weekend? It was very exciting! Even though I couldn't make it, I felt like I was there in spirit. I really considered going anyway even though we don't really have the money, but Daniel would have made me miserable on a plane and at nights. I shudder to imagine it. So I am very happy for her and hope to be able to visit before too long!

Just as I have been desperately hoping, a switch seems to have gone off in Daniel's brain. He now falls right back asleep after each feeding without too much problem at all. Even if he wakes up during the transfer from boppy to bassinet, he will just talk or fuss and I assume fall back asleep quickly, but I usually fall asleep before him! The other day his noises were really loud and lasted about forty minutes, so I couldn't sleep, but he wasn't crying! I ended up putting his seahorse that plays music in there and he finally nodded off. Anyway, that makes life easier. He still has many bad evenings, but they are so much easier to deal with when we know that the night will be easier!

I've been putting Katrina in training pants in the mornings, just to make her more aware of when she is peeing. It seems to be working. I'd love if she wanted to actually use the little potty seat but for now I'm happy with her occasionally wanting to sit on it. She loves to read the two books I bought her about potty training. And by read I mean sitting there flipping through them. It's way cute to see her "reading." At nights when we read books to her she sometimes grabs them away and reads to herself, then hands them back when she's finished. :]

Several pictures

Okay, so this picture was supposed to be at the end of the post but then I realized I accidentally uploaded the one with crazy eyes instead, so I deleted it, but then I had already put more pictures up and it won't let me change the order, etc... So here's a cute picture of Daniel in his crib.

Adam snapped this very sweet picture of Katrina.

Concentrating.

I decided to put Daniel and Katrina's baby doll side by side.

Some close-ups.

We bought Katrina a new bath towel.

She kind of hates the hood, but oh well.

Her great grandmother bought her a fun leopard coat, so I tried to snap a picture. It was hard because she had lost a shoe and kept trotting around with an exaggerated limp.

Here is my current project. It's taking awhile because finding time isn't always simple. I, of course, got the idea from someone else's blog. I'll post a link when I show the finished product. These will be toys for Katrina and hopefully will resemble me, Adam, and the other family members I'm making.
Sometimes we just stick Daniel in the crib and leave him there. It's one of his favorite places to just chill and kick around.
I think he really likes the nursery. Maybe it's the calming effect of the paint job?

Quick summary of the past few days: potty training--we're starting anew with books and training pants because she wasn't getting it with the naked time and was getting frustrated, which is the last thing I want. Daniel--falls asleep easier unswaddled, we discovered. Two great nights, one bad. Today he slept all day so we anticipate a hard night. Adam--about to start a stressful three weeks of auditing at work. Me--praying for my grandmother who seems to be approaching the end of her life and my aunt who is battling another bout of cancer. I'm also eagerly anticipating my parents' visit out here for Daniel's blessing in three weeks.

Baby shower toys

I had fun making some simple baby toys for a baby shower I'm going to tonight. I made some blocks, rings, and stuffed animals.

Pottytraining probably isn't going to be successful this time. She holds everything in until naptime or bedtime. She doesn't like to sit on the little potty seat very long. But we'll still try. She hates diapers, so I'd love to be done with them.

Sweater Dress

I know three posts in one day is kind of overkill, but I wanted to share this quick project I did today that looks super cute. See this sweater?
I love that sweater. Unfortunately, I bought it one size too large and it's never fit well. The neckline is way too wide and it only ever fits me when I am pregnant or right after I have a baby.

So I turned it into this:

There's a blog that I love that has tons of projects, all with tutorials. I made a bunch of fabric blocks and rings and stuffed animals for a baby shower present tomorrow. I'll show them when I finish stitching up the outside. Anyway, the tutorial to turn a sweater into a girl's sweater dress is right here.

Katrina seems to like it.

And now, including the two dresses I just bought from eBay, Katrina has 4 dresses for Sundays!

It could probably use some sort of embellishment but I think it's also pretty cute with just the wide stripes.

Unfortunately all these pictures show just how messy our apartment gets during the day. At least we clean it all up each night and Katrina is getting better at helping.

New entertainment

Daniel likes to be propped up so he can the world. Katrina insisted he wear her shoes.

I found the idea for this somewhere in the blogosphere ages ago. Lately Katrina has been bothering me when I do my makeup so I took some old makeup, old nail polish, and whipped these up. She loves them. Downsides--the whole apartment smelled toxic while they dried, two of them remain a bit soft so she can jab her fingers or the eye brush in and move the polish around a little bit, and they reek whenever they are opened.

Katrina refuses to leave the bathroom sometimes because she loves it so much. Makeup, faucets, bathtubs, combs and brushes, mirrors, toilet seats to stand on--endless fun!

Grrrrr

I had some pictures and other things I planned on posting, but I just need to share my frustration. Today was Day #1 of pottytraining attempt #1. The theory I am using is that if they spend all their time naked then they can feel their urges to go to the bathroom better. She woke late because she went to bed late last night. I started her off without a diaper. The morning progressed, she watched tv on a couch that is covered with an old shower curtain and towels. We played with some fake makeup I made her that I'll post pictures of next time. We played with her kitchen. I nursed Daniel on a stool next to the bathroom while she was playing so that I could keep a watch on her. Daniel slept, spent some time awake and kicking around, slept some more.

Notice a theme---no accidents! This seems good, and it makes me happy that she's not making a mess, but the whole theory behind this method is that they will make lots of messes the first couple of days and gradually figure out (with your cheerleading and coaching) that they need to use the potty or toilet. She can't figure that out if she doesn't ever pee! So I am equally glad/miffed that she apparently has a bladder of steel. At one point she ran to her room and brought me back clothes and underwear, so we tried the potty seat with no success, and then I put a diaper on her. Half an hour later I removed a dirty diaper and we resumed nakedness. I just was happy she seemed to understand that she needed her diaper on or at least something on her bum.

I really expected today to be frustrating but the actual reasons surprise me! We will resume after her nap. Daniel is overall being an angel. He's been sleeping better at night too, with the painful exception of the hour he spends screaming every night after his mid-night feeding. Other than that, he is sleeping for longer stretches!

Thank you for humoring my potty training post. I will try to refrain from giving a blow-by-blow account. We are giving this three days and if she still isn't getting it I will give up and try again in a few months.

Highlights

Highlights of yesterday and today:

-After a Very Bad Day Daniel slept 7 hours, due to his swing and Adam's mad skills

-I bought Katrina Big Girl Underwear and today she wore them for around two hours, and then was naked for another hour and a half before she finally had a small accident. She refused to use the potty chair other than to just sit on it, but I consider it excellent progress.

-Funny moment: "Katrina, I love you. I love you. Do you love me? Katrina, do you love me?" "No!"

-I finished the strap on my bag last night at 11:30. It looks great!

-Daniel was great all day today until Adam left for his campout. :[ Oh well. He's currently laying on the floor because I figured a change of scenery would interest him and it worked for a few minutes, though he's fussing again.

-I got another nap on the couch while Daniel slept on me and Katrina watched tv. Sadly, I fell asleep moments after Adam came home and woke up minutes before he had to leave for his campout.

-I found an ottoman on Craigslist that is exactly what we want for only $30, so I inquired. I really hope it isn'y sold yet.

Crying baby, so that's all for tonight!

Smiles and Ovals

Daniel has been giving his first smiles. I tried to catch one on video but mostly just got a minute's worth of pleasant expressions. You can see his dimple on his right cheek that he gets from Adam.

I decided I needed to get a video of Katrina writing on her chalkboard. The video is pretty bumpy because she kept sitting on my lap, but it gets especially cute when she tries to draw one of her favorite shapes instead of her usual straight lines.

Today is tricky because Daniel won't stay asleep in the same place for longer than 20-30 minutes. I just barely squeezed in a shower but he woke while I was getting dressed and his crying woke up Katrina prematurely, so she is currently knocking on her door and talking while I feed him. I'm just happy I got my shower in, but I would have loved to have had another half an hour to finish up the strap on my bag! I'm so close to completion!

Someone just pottytrain her already!

Good news--Katrina broke the tv! Well, not the entire tv, because that would definitely be bad, but just the buttons on the front. Remember how she constantly turns it in and unless I unplug it I have to always have the black screen with "Turn on your cable box" flashing and the high annoying whine bugging my ears? Well she has pushed the buttons so much that they are now virtually unresponsive. It doesn't really mean we watch less tv, since she just brings me the remote and I turn it on, but at least it's not on when we're not watching.

So around 9:30 I was tring to get Daniel to sleep and Katrina was loudly complaining because I didn't want to turn the tv on. So she switched her goal to taking her clothes off and yelled until I helped. She spent the next while playing without clothes and eventually I gave in to her demands and turned on the tv because I just can't fight that battle these days. Daniel woke and I got him back to sleep on my chest, at which point I was overwhelmed with a wave of fatigue and laid down with him on the couch. An hour later I woke up and it was Sesame Street. I think I dozed more until it was over and finally got up in order to face the mess I knew I would find. But there was none! She had moved off of the towel on the couch and I was sure that meant she had gone to the bathroom, but nope. No wet spots or worse anywhere. She went two hours without an accident! Plus, she regularly spends an hour or so at a time without clothes and in the last two months or so that this has been going on, she's only had three accidents.

Who knows if she's actually ready for toilet training, but I'll let you know if we have any success. She's 21 months old now. It would sure be cool if she potty trained early!

On the Daniel front, things are going so much better that I'm afraid to tell you that in case he regresses. So I'll just say that we've had much better days and two better nights. Also, we bought new batteries and have a working swing now, which makes a definite difference. He's six weeks tomorrow.

Peaceful Day

It's been a nice peaceful day after a battle of a night. Summarized: I slept 11-2, 5-8. In between we switched off who was trying to soothe Daniel. Six hours isn't bad, just not when it's separated by three hours of waking time. Tonight should be better, since we bought new batteries for the swing. He's been great all day, so hopefully he doesn't turn on us tonight!
Adorable picture of our little "old man" in Katrina's chair.

The moby wrap has been a failure lately, but today my muscles were just so tired from holding him and I needed to try again. I decided to put him in facing outwards but with his feet still in. Surprisingly, he liked it. He even fell asleep! Unfortunately, I had to sit in an awkward position to keep his head from falling forward and it just exacerbated the knot in my back, but I enjoyed holding him with a little more freedom of movement.

And a close-up to show his face.

I spent the whole day doing nothing, and it was great. I figured it was my reward for enduring the night before. Katrina had fun (in the above pictures, she was standing out of sight on her stool and looking at the mirror, with no clothes on) and the day passed quickly with Daniel spending most of it asleep! I found some future projects to sew, and also started making a list of meals to make in a quest to have a 30-meal plan for dinners. I'm only up to 16, which tells you how limited my cooking is. Adam is the one who branches out more often. This week he made some delicious calzones that made the list.

So the hardware to finish my diaper bag strap arrived here today, but I just don't feel like sewing! It will have to wait until tomorrow, unless I get a sudden bit of energy soon. Which I might. I really really want this bag done.

Oh, and one last, nonrelated thing. During my blog-hopping the other day, I discovered a really cool blog. It's called Knock Off Wood and is a blog of a carpenter who takes real catalog furniture and makes simple plans so people can make their own furniture. It's really cool and I had fun going through the archives to look at the things she's built and the plans for really nice pieces of furniture. Along with that, Adam and I have been trying to think of something different for our living room because Katrina likes to climb on and sometimes bang on the coffee table. We have been looking on Craigslist at ottomans. Well, after looking at this site we feel inspired to make our own storage ottoman! We can use his parents' tools and the only trouble would be transporting it back. I'll report back on our progress in a few weeks.

Diaper Bag Pictures!

I am almost finished with my diaper bag! All that is left is the strap, but since my hardware to make it adjustable didn't arrive today, I'll have to finish the strap later. So sadly, I can't use it tomorrow at church, but I can still take pictures to share with everyone! :]


First, here is the tutorial that I used. I decided I wanted a messenger bag that could go across my front because I often find that my bag slips off my shoulder when I am carrying multiple children and other things, and that's really inconvenient. I mostly followed the tutorial, just making a few adjustments for aesthetic or lack of fabric reasons. I bought the fabric Wednesday, worked on it after Katrina's bedtime and during naptimes since then. I ended up using some interesting fabric choices because I was looking at the discounted fabric and got a little flustered because both babies started crying. I picked up some black nylon for the outside, some red suede as an accent, and some vinyl for the inside like the instructions direct. Except I picked up the wrong kind--I intended to get the kind like you find in tablecloths, but ended up getting some faux leather, like you would use for upholstery. I totally knew better, but oh well. It ended up working really well because the bag has a nice sturdy weight to it. I did have to use the black for the inside pockets, and I ran out of it because I am also going to make a changing pad with it. It worked out though.

Two pockets in front and on the sides, and you can't see it, but there are magnets sewn in both the flap and the front pockets. I didn't want to use the silver magnets purse closures because I can never get them to be very secure, so I sewed magnets inside. Unfortunately, they aren't very strong magnets and they don't keep the flap closed, so it just relies on its own weight.

Inside. Very roomy. I still have to fix some of the binding, just in case you noticed.

I like the little hints of red on the insides of all of the pockets. It's a really pretty fabric and I will probably make myself a wallet out of it.

Here it is with the main contents of the backpack I'm currently using as a diaper bag.

So there you go! I'm really happy with it and Adam thinks it looks really nice, which makes me feel good. I'm excited to start using it!

I am sharing at Amylouwho as well.

Mirror game and a baby video

It's been such a peaceful, relaxing day after a horrible day and night yesterday. This morning I was ready to just throw in the towel and lock myself in a room but then Daniel finally took a nap and has been taking naps all day, like a normal baby. Yesterday he only was sleeping for maybe 20 minutes at a time and spent the rest crying. Nighttime was more of the same crankiness, though he did sleep for several hours once he finally slept. So it's been such a relief today. I even made dinner for the first time in a month! I made beef stew in the crockpot and it smells wonderful. I got some laundry done and the kitchen cleaned a bit and had a nice relaxing time during both kids' naps.

Anyway, here is a video showing a game Katrina and I play sometimes. She stands on her stool and we pop up and giggle. Usually it sends her into squeals, but she was distracted by the camera. Still, it's pretty cute. Yes, she has no clothes on, but you can't really see much besides her shoulders.

Also, I took a video of Daniel during some of his awake time today. It's pretty much a minute of him doing nothing, but I think it's adorable and I thought I'd share some footage of him.

I got some discount fabric at the store tonight to start on the diaper bag I'm going to make. I cut out some of the fabric already. I really hope it turns out well, because I am absolutely sick of all of the bags I've been using. The cute ones are all too small, the ugly one from the hospital fell apart, and the backpack I am using now doesn't have zipper pulls and is difficult to get things in and out of. Time for a new bag.

Little Mimic

No pictures today, sorry! I really wish I had charged my camera so I could show you Daniel's amazing receding hairline. He loses more hair on top every time we give him a bath, which makes him look even more like a cranky old man.

And boy is he cranky! I've been denying that he's colicky but we've come to accept the fact that he is. Colic--crying at leat three hours a day, for at least three days a week, for at least three weeks. Yep, that's him. Usually the evening is his awful time, and nighttime after feedings, but yesterday he was crabby all day until Adam came home. Boy was it nice to have a peaceful evening after that. You can give me your suggestions but I bet I've already tried them: swaddling, swing, baby wrap, gripe water, etc. Yes, all of them work occasionally but we end up cycling through everything and then when something finally works you wonder if he was just exhausted and gave up or if it really worked. We got a little seahorse that plays music for Christmas and that works sometimes to lull him to sleep, especially if combined with swaddling and being carried in his preferred facing-out position. I've experimented with changing my diet and not found markedly different results between when I abstain from certain things and when I don't. However, I am trying to eat less sugar and definitely avoiding chocolate and broccoli.

Now let me brag about Adam. He has been taking care of dinner and Katrina and changing Daniel and walking with him during the night and cleaning and getting me food while I nurse and anything else that needs to be done. To some of you that might seem logical, since he's the second half of our marriage partnership, but I've been reading about a lot of other women online who aren't so lucky. I am so grateful to have him. He's possibly even more exhausted than me, plus is having upper back issues. Luckily I have enough energy to get some cleaning done in between meals and crying jags, so he's not shouldering everything, and I have a desire to cook, just not the freedom. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to juggle two kids and dinner prep, otherwise he'll be cooking indefinitely, which I doubt he likes the idea of!

Now on to Katrina. She is such a little mimic these days and it's hilarious. She has her baby doll from Christmas and likes to put it in the swing or the carseat. She knows all the signs to her favorite songs, which are Popcorn Popping, Old McDonald (no signs for that, she just says "ee ah ee ah"), Itsy Bitsy Spider, Hinges, and several others. She used to love it when we sang anything, but now if we sing something she doesn't want to hear, she'll yell, "Nana! Nana!" until we stop. Yesterday I started singing a little made-up song which vaguely followed the tune of that Primary song that starts, "I wiggle my fingers, I wiggle my toes..." I named different actions for her to do and as I did them she copied everything I did. It was lots of fun and very cute. I love seeing her do new things, like the other day when she used her fork for the first time to spear things instead of just scooping them. She also loves her new chalkboard and is getting very good at drawing straight lines all over it, then erasing it and doing it all again. Oh, and she just now (five minutes ago) learned how to take her own pants off. I kind of taught her how. I'd rather she take them off herself than cry at me because I won't do it. Luckily she's better these days at letting me put clothes back on her, so no more spending hours naked to avoid a throw-down tantrum.

As for me, I just got a new calling. I was certain that I would be back in Primary because the current Primary pianist is doubling as the organist. But the bishop told me that they are giving me a break so I can concentrate on raising my kids, so I'm on the Activity Board in Relief Society. That means I'll be helping to plan formerly-known-as-Enrichment activities, I think. Our bishop is Korean and has a thick accent, so sometimes things can be a little confusing. I was talking to a counselor in Relief Society in the hallway and she was a little nervous that I didn't know my calling because I was called as a member of the Relief Society Board over the pulpit, and another sister was called as "Relief Society Specialist" and neither the sister or the counselor was quite sure what that meant without talking to the RS president. The counselor's husband was there and said that he was called as the "Ward Specialist" over the pulpit instead of Ward Welfare Specialist. We love our bishop and he himself laughs at his language difficulties, so none of this was said in malice or anything.

I have one blank book left and last night spent my time stuck under a nursing and sleeping baby on the computer. I am making Katrina a book with tons of pictures of various foods, animals, objects, household things, and outdoor things. I printed everything out this morning and realized I mistakenly planned for a 8"x6.375" book instead of a 8.375"x6" book. So I need to rearrange the pictures and print it out again. Hopefully it will help Katrina's speech. She's on the behind side of normal and we want to encourage her to learn more words and work to say them more clearly.

Growing Fast

Daniel is about 10 pounds now. The doctor said his heart murmur is gone, and he is gaining about 1.5 ounces a day, which is excellent. He has filled out so much and outgrown most of his Newborn clothing.

We have a hard time getting him to sleep. The swing and moby wrap work best but not all the time. Last night I didn't have too much trouble getting him back to sleep each time but a few nights ago Adam was on the couch with him all night.

We had a nice New Year celebration with Adam's family eating Moroccan food. It was delicious. Today Adam and I went to an Indian buffet for lunch and that was also delicious. Katrina was a big fan of the food too.
Adam shares wrap duty too.

My wallet is going to pieces. I got it three years ago in Russia and while I like it, I decided to make use of a cute wallet tutorial I found online and make one of my own. Then I decided to change the pattern to fit my needs better. Then I scrapped it and made a completely new pattern. It took several days to finish even though the actual work didn't take too long, but I could only sew in the late evenings for short periods while not holding or nursing a baby. I finished it tonight but my camera needs to recharge, so I'll post pictures later. It didn't turn out perfectly but it looks cute. I will probably go ahead and make the other pattern too and see which I like better.